We'll Follow Her to the Grave
by Yuki Loxar
Summary: Madam always seemed to love those things, her dolls. I heard they're actually people who had their souls shattered so they just wander around aimlessly, following anyone's orders. But that's not possible. Madam wouldn't be so cruel right? Anyways, I heard she found new doll candidates recently. Tch, they'd better be grateful. I'd kill for a chance to be by her side like that.
1. Prologue I: Chapter 1

**I have no idea what I'm doing, starting a new story when I'm on the 19th chapter of my first story. Looks like I've adapted the habit of it from IcePrinceRay...OH WELL. You may notice that this has appeared once before. Don't worry, you're not hallucinating and your internet isn't broken. When I first published this, I immediately lost inspiration for it but now I have regained it so I can continue with this story. Just a note, this IS going to have a connection with my other story: Books of Fate. Things from this are going to be included later in that story, so this is basically a spin-off of sorts.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT AND OCs**

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Date: September 11, XXX

Location: Underground Sin

Under the country of Sin there is a maze of complex tunnels, long forgotten. Unknown to the public, there are inhabitants surviving down there. Many inhabitants. Long ago, they came together to form a civilization. And every civilization needs to have order.

* * *

It had been such a stormy day when it happened. That day...on that day I saw my mistress smile for the first time in months. As her follower, that smile was the equivalent of witnessing a miracle.

_Click Click Click Click_

The sound of my shoes hitting the ground as I ran seemed loud in the empty tunnel. I kept running until I reached the end of the long corridor, which was blocked by a wooden door. I paused, glancing around before knocking on the door 9 times.

After knocking, I glanced up at one of the cracks in the walls. The door slowly opened with a creak. It opened just wide enough for me to slip through. Upon squeezing through the thin entrance, I noticed _their_ presence.

Dolls. At least 6 of them were positioned near the door, staring blankly at me with glazed over eyes. I shuddered. They'd always been creepy, but Mistress liked them so they were kept in here.

Shrugging off their gazes, I avoided them when walking toward her destination. The Monitors. Small, thin devices bound by wires to a nearby pillar.

As I expected, Mistress was sitting in front of the screens. Something was in her hand. "Have you found anything?" I hesitantly asked Mistress.

Mistress turned to her and smiled, holding up a single device in her hands. "This one…I want him…" Mistress said sweetly. On the screen was the image of a single boy, chained up by him limbs. Though I would never admit it, he was quite attractive. His black hair complimented his white clothes.

Wait.

There was something hanging from his neck…a necklace of some kind…? Yes, it was a necklace. A necklace in the shape of a cross.

Wait.

Something else was on his neck. No, not an accessory, a tattoo of some kind. Words.

'SUBJECT C' it read. Huh, I wonder what that means…

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**I'll try to update this as often as I can but it'll definitely be updated at least bimonthly. This story is going to have a lot of OCs, like A LOT. As a side note, is anyone excited for 2015 anime/manga? I heard Tokyo Ghoul is going to air a second season on January 8th but it's kind of filler. Something about a parallel dimension where Kaneki started off as a ghoul instead of being the newbie. Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	2. Second Side

**I still have no idea what I'm going to do with this story, but I know I gotta do something! Just a warning, I'm going to try doing first POV sometimes so the POVs might switch in the middle of a chapter. Did anyone notice what I did with the date? That was a tragic day for 'Murica...OH WELL!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THA PLOT AND OCs**

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Date: September 11, XXX

Location: Underground Sin

I sat quietly and patiently while watching my beautiful mistress who was pacing at the moment. "Mistress…." I murmured quietly. Mistress turned towards me suddenly, having heard me. "Maria, you…" she muttered before resuming pacing.

"Do you need something of me Mistress?" I asked. _Please want something of me!_ "...Actually, yes. I do need you to do something." Mistress said. _Yes!_ "What is it?" I asked excitedly. _Well, maybe too excitedly because Mistress gave me an odd look. Whoops. _"Go to the research facility and get one of those...devices." she ordered.

"Yes Mistress." I said, bowing. _She must want information on that boy I saw earlier._ I walked out of the room, past the dolls, and back into the hallways. I'm certain they're watching me as I leave. When I get into the hallway, I pick up my pace a little and start off toward the research facility.

* * *

"..."

_Light covered my hands, illuminating the dark room. I could feel the power flowing through my veins. _

"_Da mihi virtutem sentiendi, Secreta universi…. Amunet!" _she cried. The light shined brightly then vanished. The lights came on from overhead.

"It's no good Astrid-sama, you're just not ready yet." a woman said. "But,But! Onee-sama can do it!" A young Astrid whined. "Yes, because she's ready," the woman said. "You're still a seed, young one, your sister is a flower."

"Then, can you do it too Sensei?" Astrid asked, looking up at her. Sensei laughed and patted her head. "Once upon a time I was able to do such things," she said. "Now,all I do is teach." she said, reminiscing.

"Don't feel sad Sensei! I think you're a great teacher!" Astrid said cheerfully. Sensei smiled before looking at the clock on the far wall and gasping. "My goodness! You're going to be late for sparring! We need to get you to the dojo immediately!"

Sensei grabbed Astrid's hand and pulled her out of the room and down the hall. After a few twists and turns, they reached a set of wooden double doors. "I can take it from here Sensei!" Astrid said before opening the doors wide. Inside was a spacious room with a few throne-like chairs on one wall. In those chairs were 3 people.

"Good afternoon Grandmother, Father, Grandfather." Astrid greeted with a bow. The three merely nodded in response. There was someone else in the room. It was a boy, roughly the same age as her. He was standing in the middle of the room.

"Good evening to you too, Gil." she said. He just nodded like the others. She walked in front of him and took her stance. He took his as well. Grandmother took out a bell and rung it.

Gil sprang forward and immediately went for her abdomen. She swiftly turned to the side and swung her elbow toward his face. He dove to the floor then rolled before lunging toward her once again. He high-kicked which she dodged by bending backwards. She quickly grabbed his ankle and bent backwards again, with more force this time, and let go. He slammed into the ground, face first.

She turned around while Grandmother rang the bell again, signalling the end of the match. Astrid bowed again before walking out of the room.

* * *

I threw the door open causing everyone to stop and stare. "Hi," I said casually. "Good evening." They all said in sync before returning to their work. I walking into the room, closing the steel door behind me.

I paused and took a moment to survey the busy room. There were workers in uniforms scurrying about the large space, people going up and down the rusted yet stable stairs.

_Good they're all still functioning_. I walked over to the left wall, where the large cabinets and many shelves were. _Let's see..._I scanned the filled shelves until I found what I was looking for. _Ah! Here it is! _

I grabbed hold of the tablet-like device and unplugged it from the charging station. I pressed down on the power button and held it that way for a few seconds until the screen lit up.

As soon as it finished starting up, I went to the personal data base and opened a file. An image popped up, a girl. _Found you ..._

I turned the image to holographic form then tapped the info box.

**#14: Ayano**

**Race: human**

**Ability: summoning**

**Relatives: unknown**

_Huh? That's it? _ I sighed at the database's lack of knowledge. "I guess I'll have to go gather information again..." I accidentally said aloud.

"Are you going to go outside, Maria-san?" A high pitched yet familiar voice asked. I turned and looked down at the little one. "Unfortunately, I need more data." I said.

The little one known as Ito deflated slightly. "Make sure to collect samples while you're up there." She said. I walked past her and toward the door. "I will." I said as I exited.

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**Whew, another chapter done! This story is going quite well to say the least. But, the more I work on this the less I work on the other one….oh well. Did anyone else read chapter 414, just….damn….RIP Igneel. **


	3. Departure

**This is getting fun to write. I managed to make timeline for my other story so it won't be so confusing for me to write about, hopefully it'll work. This story is doing good in terms of views but not so hot in terms of reviews...well, its still new and patience is key (along with speed). BTW, the little girl's name is not something else so go check the previous chapter before reading this. On a side note, the Book of Fate series is going to be kind of similar to Pandora Hearts in terms of order of events but like Puella Magi Madoka Magica in terms of abilities and something else. Also, this is officially the prequel to Book of Fate.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs and plot.**

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Location: Underground Sin

Date: September 12, XXX

"I'm off, Mistress." I announced before bowing and turning to the door.

"Do take care of yourself," Mistress said sweetly, although she wasn't looking at me at all. "Yes, I will." I said with a small smile. I passed her dolls again. _Gets_ _creepier every time _I thought as I exited her room. Once the door was shut completely, I took off for my room.

5 minutes later I was standing in front of the green door to room, panting. I grabbed the handle and yanked it, opening the door with a creak. I stepped through the gap and shut it behind me. It was pitch black inside. "Einschalten!" I said loudly. Two seconds later, the room was bathed in light.

_That's better. _I walked over to my bed, which was neat thanks to yours-truly, and grabbed my brown backpack. Almost immediately, I started stuffing it with items. Brush, knife, hair and pepper sprays, paper, pens, and journal. _I think that's all of it._ I thought with a nod.

I walked out and locked the door behind me, the lights would automatically turn off in a few minutes anyway. On that note, I set off toward the 'dock' as they called it. It was actually just where people went to get to the sewers.

On my way I passed a conference room. As I passed in front of the door I was sure I heard shouting. But violence wasn't really tolerated don here, so who ever was disagreeing wouldn't be able to do anything but shout. And yet...I couldn't stop myself from pressing my ear against the door.

"...at's a horrible idea!"

"Wh...ot? We need people for Mistress!"

"She's the…...for heaven's sake!"

"Yeah! …...…...would be suicide!"

_I can't hear them very well….Is the door really that thick? _I thought as I pressed my ear harder against the door.

"As…...is a very…...person!"

"Exactly why we need her! She has….legendary book!"

"Amunet is….with it we could…."

"I disagree! We…..have the….."

"But Mistress isn't interested in her! She..…."

"That's right! That raven haired…"

"His…..Senryu!"

"...That Senryu boy he…"

I pulled away from the door and sighed in defeat. _I just can't hear any of them…_

I straightened, cleared my throat, and continued on my way.

I followed the usual route; right, right, left, up the stairs, straight, left.

Finally I came to the dock and was about to open the door when someone grabbed my skirt. I turned and looked down only to see little Ito standing there.

"What are you doing here little one?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Maria-san...the tragedy is coming." she said quietly, her bangs shadowing her eyes. "Tragedy? That's impossible, what could bring a tragedy?" I questioned.

Suddenly, she burst into tears. "The tragedy! It's…It's going to erase us all!" she sobbed. Although startled, I kneeled down and grabbed her shoulders. "There is no tragedy. We are going to be safe from any danger because the Mistress will always save us." I said sternly.

She wiped her eyes and nodded weakly. "Ito!" A woman's voice yelled. Ito and I both looked up and saw her mother running towards us. "What has gotten into you child?" She asked. "M-Mother...I apologize." Ito almost whispered.

I gave her a little shove towards her mother before turning back around. "I apologize Ito, but I must depart." I said, opening the door. "Have luck!" Her mother said as I walked through the doorway.

* * *

**Well that ended on a rather odd note. I have decided…..to dedicate myself to update this every 5 days! BTW, I changed the girl's name because I'm terrified of any form of copyright strike so...just to be safe... A lot more frequent than the other story! Has anyone read Fairy Tail's chapter 415 (if not, spoilers ahead)? It almost got me with the feelz. Hopefully Natsu'll get character development. This is the perfect chance, DON'T WASTE IT MASHIMA! And the dragons had the same situation Silver had; being half-dead and away from their 'children'. Did anyone realize that Igneel's death was kinda useless considering he would've died right after the fight anyway? Acnologia just made it more dramatic. I wish Hiro could've shown when everyone got back together and not just skipping over it. ANYWAY, the tartaros arc is basically just need chapter 416 to wrap it up. Too bad we have to wait a few days longer for it, CURSES! **

**Not to sound insensitive, but WAITING FOR GRAY AND JUVIA TO CONFRONT EACH OTHER SO HARD! Also waiting for Gray and Lucy to explain their new powers to everyone. I hope their powers are permanent so Lucy doesn't have an excuse for not fighting like everyone else. **

**Rant over.**

**Well, until next chapter.**


	4. Letter

**First off, A BIG THANKS TO Amethystfairy1 for reviewing! Someone around here cares. Second, due to a suggestion, this story will be taking a turn for the better. If it goes according to plan. On a side note, I recently saw Markiplier play a game called Presentable Liberty. The ending was so sad and depressing, I cried. And I'm usually a pretty stoic person. Charlotte! T^T**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE OCS AND PLOT.**

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"Onee-chan! Onee-sama!"

Both Astrid and Shion turned at the sound of their little sister's voice.

"Good morning Yui," Shion said cooly. "Morning Yui-chan!" Astrid said cheerfully.

"Astrid, use proper sentences." Shion scolded. "Sorry, I mean, I apologize sister." Astrid corrected.

"You are forgiven," Shion said while Yui ran up to them. "Today, I played with Sensei and Appa-chan!" She exclaimed happily. "You did not bother them did you?" Shion shook her head fiercely. "No, I was a good girl!" She said with pride.

"Shion-sama, Astrid-sama, Yui-san," a female voice called. All three girl turned toward the voice only to find a servant standing there. "Forgive me for disrupting you, but a letter has arrived from Garry-san." She said, holding out an envelope.

Astrid and Yui rushed over and gratefully took it. "Thank you." They said in sync. Running back to Shion, Astrid opened the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "You can read it this time Astrid." Shion said.

Astrid nodded and unfolded the paper and began to read its contents aloud.

_Dear children,_

_Its been a while since i last sent one of these, sorry about that._

_In any case, I'm sure you're excited to hear about my recent adventure so I won't keep you waiting. During my journey to Tenroujima island, I had to sail for quite a while and it was very warm. I could've sworn I had enough sweat to fill a bucket!_

_Upon anchoring, I noticed a strange aura coming from the land, almost as if it were requesting me to leave. I guess it's to be expected from the famous Fairy Tail's holy land._

_The plants there werent very special, they were rather common in fact. But the exception was the huge tree in the middle of the island. It's roots seemed to take half the island! It was a beautiful sight nonetheless. I plan to visit the Fairy Tail guild before returning, I hear they're quite the routey bunch. But enough about me, I've been rambling again havent I? Astrid, I hear your birthday is coming up soon. Hopefully I'll be back in time to celebrate with you. Shion, I heard you're excelling in your politics studies. That's good and all but I think you should take a break and act your age every once in a while. If you're so serious, everyone will be too intimidated to approach you. Yui, I heard you're going to start your training soon. I wish you the best of luck and I'll try my best to watch you fight when I can. Well, this will be the last letter I send until I return (unless something happens which delays me)._

_Sincerely,_

_Garry_

Shion smiled, "What a nice letter." "I hope he comes back soon!" Astrid exclaimed. "Me too!" Yui agreed. "I'm sure he will, but until then we need to practice so we can impress him when he returns. " Shion said.

" Yes Onee-sama!" The younger girls cheered, standing and running off to their own classes. The servant smiled, "You all appreciate Garry-senpai very much don't you?"

Shion just smiled and walked to her room.

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**Well this was uneventful and short, oh well, at least we got a hint at who Garry is. Anyone else excited for the Tartaros arc epilogue? I'm still waiting for Gray and Juvia to talk about his dad. I heard it's 33 pages long...a dream come true. Once again, sorry for the chapter length but I'm determined to update every 5 days, regardless of the chapter 416 should come out before i update again so react to that for me pls. **

**BTW, I'm considering a Juvia centered fanfic where Gray is her imaginary friend, and another story where Ultear, Lyon, and Gray are siblings but they have a special job...Naturally, it's an AU. Granted I won't be doing either of these for a while but I still wanna know...What do you think? ALSO, don't hesitate to ask any questions about any of my stories, I'll reply. And this might seem random but, does anyone have a second account? I was thinking of putting those two stories on there...**

**Review~!**


	5. The Ladder Climb

**NO TIME FOR RANT TODAY, GOTTA DO THE CHAPTER!**

**DISCLAIMER : FAIRY TAIL ISNT MINE AT ALL!**

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_Clank clank clank squeeeek _

"Kyaa!" I squealed as the ladder groaned for nth time. This time was scarier than the others, surely. My hands were still shaking but I continued climbing. '_It's alright, it's fine...this is stable..right…?' _

The ladder mockingly groaned and lurched to the side slightly. '_Oh God, oh God-' ._The ladder lurched to the other side. '_OH GOD-' _It finally settled in the center and shut up. I let out the breath I'd been holding and put shaking put my foot on the next rung.

I quietly cursed my fear of heights as I resisted the urge to look down for the millionth time. My sweaty palms slid a little every time I moved them.

The smell hit again.

I wrinkled my nose and lifted my scarf over my nose. '_Ugh, I just can't get used to this SMELL no long how I stay here.' _

After a few more minutes, I saw something. Some kind of light. "Is that the surface?" I whispered to myself. I climbed a dozen more rungs before I was sure I saw it. Moonlight.

I climbed the rest of the way very quickly, but remembering to be cautious and wary of falling. I'd just reached the rung a few feet below the manhole before I heard something. Voices. As gross as it was, I pressed my ear against a small hole in the cover.

"...Are all the preparations ready?" "Yes ma'am" "Good, go back to the lab and start up the machine" "Yes ma'am"

Then I heard the clacks of what I guessed was someone in heels walking away. I pulled my head away from the cover for a moment before looking up the hole. I could only see straight up into the night sky. It was pretty to say the least.

'_It sounded like two people talking, but I only heard one pair of footsteps...is the second person still there?_' I hummed softly in thought before putting one of my legs behind a rung. '_Please, please, please don't let me fall._' I thought as I put my hands on the cover and pushed a little.

It didn't budge at all.

'_What the?!' _I pushed on it more and it lifted a little. I pushed on it harder and it lifted a little more. I gave it a huge push and it lifted all the way. '_Alright!'_ I cheered silently for a few seconds. Keeping it in the air, I carefully tried to move my leg, the one behind the rung, back to in front of it.

It worked for a second before my heel got stuck and I lost my balance. "Eep!" I squeaked as I flailed for a nanosecond before falling backwards. I felt myself in midair for a moment as I noticed the world flipping upside down before I hit something.

Everything suddenly started fading and I heard a voice screaming something. They sounded scared, terrified even.

'_Maybe it's...me…?'_

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**Sorry for the uneventful chapter but I typed this super fast and struggled for ideas but it was for the sake of keeping my promise. Next chapter will hopefully be more eventful but that's only if I can get some more ideas. Thanks again Amatheyst for reviewing! My only loyal reviewer! Also, I've decided to do the sibling fic...in a few months. Maybe when I finish Book of Fate or this...anyone got any ideas for a title? It's a spiritual fic but with a somewhat school AU. On a side note; I've started watching a youtube series featuring high school life. It's...wow…Anyone think a 1 year timeskip would do FT any good? Would Team Natsu look any different? It seems Hiro doesn't bother to change the characters' appearances, just look at future Lucy! She looks exactly. the same. Except for the possible loss of an arm. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my homework.**

**Review please~!**


	6. Welcome

**Herro. I have an announcement...I'll have to stop these frequent updates. Yep, slowing down a bit. If I don't a lot more chapters will be really short like the last few. So I'll update again on the 31st, then after that, the updates might turn to once a week. Sorry, but I'm not experienced enough to handle this schedule yet. Also I have exams this week so I'll be brain dead by the time I get to the computer... BUT, this isn't final so we'll just have to wait and see if I can get any better.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in Fairy Tail**

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Everything was black. I couldn't see anything nor feel much, everything was numb except for a dull throbbing on the back of my head. I groaned and my hearing seemed to come back bit by bit. I started to hear distant voices .

"Do you think she's waking up?"

"Well at least we know she's alive"

"Where'd you find her again? In the sewer?"

"A sewer? How'd she get down there?!"

"SHH! She tryin' to sleep idiot!"

"I can..hear you," I slurred. I'm not sure if I said it aloud.

"I told you!" I heard a faint grumble before silence took over. I slowly pried my eyes open only to be blinded by the sun's rays, and I shut my eyelids. After a moment I opened them again, but squinting this time.

* * *

I was still temporarily blinded by the sun, but it didn't burn as much this time. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked around and noticed people staring down at me. It was a group in fact; a busty blondie, an equally endowed redhead with armor, a boy with pink hair, an old man with a mustache, a small girl with blue hair, a blue hat with wings, a white cat with wings,another busty woman but she had white hair, and…..

"You!" I cried, sitting up immediately. The raven haired boy jumped slightly as everyone stared at me with clearly puzzled looks. I lunged forward and grabbed the sleeved of the white jacket he was wearing. "You! I was looking for you!" I said, almost excitedly. _That was easy. _

"Eh?" was all he said. The scarlet haired girl took a threatening step forward, but I barely noticed. "Whew, you being here saved me so much trouble…" I muttered in relief. "What do you mean?" the blondie asked. I glanced at her then let go of his shoulders.

"Uhm, er…" I managed to say, sinking back into the bed I'd been laying on seconds before. "Yeah, why're you after Gray?" the scarlet haired one said. I blinked. "Gray? Who's that? This is Senryu,"

They all looked at each other before looking back at me. The white haired woman shook her head. "Anyway, do you remember what happened to you?" she asked. Of course I knew what happened but there's no way I'd tell her that, so I just stared at her.

"These brats found you dangling from a ladder in the sewer, you should be grateful that they found you" the old man said. I just gave him a look. "Who are you anyway?" the pink haired one asked.

I huffed and closed my eyes. "...The name's Maria, from somewhere you don't know" I said, opening one eye. Blondie walked toward me and extended her hand, "I'm Lucy, it's nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully. I leaned away from her hand, weirded out by her friendly demeanor. _What's with this girl? Her aura is so weird…_

She gave an awkward laugh and retracted her hand. I was suddenly struck by the thought of what I might look like. I snatched Blondie's blue hair tie that kept up her little ponytail, and quickly put my hair into a ponytail.

All in under 30 seconds. The everyone but the scarlet hair, the old man, and the white haired woman gaped at me. "What? I needed to fix my hair" I said, baffled at their odd behavior. "Even if you want to fix your hair, you should ask for things you want" the white haired one said calmly.

"Why? It's easier to just take what you want than asking. Besides, there's no guarantee that she would've said yes anyway" I said with a scoff, flipping my hair fabulously. They just stared at me in silence before the white haired one walked up to me and got all up in my face. "You've lived a hard life haven't you?" she said sympathetically.

I just stared at her blankly until she spoke again, "I'm Mirajane, but you can call me Mira," she said sweetly. And this is Erza, Natsu,Wendy, Carla, Happy,Master and _Gray" _she said, emphasizing the last name. Each person gave a nod or wave as greeting.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up without responding. "You're currently in the Fairy Tail guild infirmary, you can stay as long as you like" Mira continued. "Thanks for the hospitality, but I'm not staying long" I said, looking straight at _Gray. _

I walked up to him and grabbed his collar, "You're coming home with me" I ordered. He just stared at me before forcefully pulling my hand from his shirt. "What's with you?! Why are so focused on _me _of all people?" he questioned, clearly irritated. "Because you're my goal" I said bluntly. "What?" everyone said in sync.

I ignored their shock and turned to Mira, " This is a guild right? Introduce me to everyone here" I ordered. She blinked before nodding and leading me out the door to a balcony of sorts. Looking down, I saw dozens of people milling around, talking or drinking or even fighting. _Whoa...these people are crazy…_

"Everyone! Could you quiet down for a moment?" Mira called. Only a few people turned to her. Erza walked out next to her and yelled "Everyone shut up! Mira has something to say!". This time, everyone went silent almost instantly and a few were even looking at her in fear.

"Thanks Erza," Mira said. Erza just nodded and gave me a small push forward. "Everyone, this is Maria! She'll be staying here for a while so make her feel welcome okay?" she announced. Everyone below looked up at me with interest, but I just crossed my arms.

"Don't get too excited! I'm not staying for long, just until I complete my mission!" I boomed loudly. "If you have something to say or any questions, just get it over with now instead of swarming around me like insects later" I said, still yelling.

"How old are you?" A voice from among the crowd asked. "Nineteen, next question!"

"What's your mission?" "To capture someone, next question!"

"Do you have any magic?" "Yes, next question!"

"Where are you from?" "Somewhere you don't know, next question!"

"What's your size?" "Size…?" I looked down at my chest before feeling it for a moment. "Hmm...I'd say about F cup, next question!"

There was utter silence afterwards. "Uhm, Maria, you shouldn't be sharing that kind of information so openly..." Mira whispered, sweat dropping. "Why not? There's no reason to be modest about my chest, it's sexy" I said, staring at her in confusion.

Everyone suddenly burst into laughter. "What? What's so funny?" I asked, staring down at them with a raised eyebrow. Erza was suddenly behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to Fairy Tail" she said.

I just shook my head.

_These people are so weird._

* * *

**YAY! Maria meets FT! Also, if you havent figured it out yet, Maria's mission is to capture Gray. With this, we get a little of Maria's personality too; blunt, not modest in the slightest, and kinda oblivious to social things/rules. I did an extra long chapter this time to 1) make up for the previous short chapters and 2) get all of this introductory over in one go so next time I can type about Maria's time with the guild. I was planning on having another OC of mine show up but I couldn't think of a way to include them without it being random. ALSO, team natsu did rescue Maria but why were they on a different continent? I have no clue. For a special job maybe…? I'll let you guys decide what happened. I'm so excited yet nervous for chapter 417 but we might not get it this week because Mashima released a 416.5 chapter the other day (it hasnt been translated yet). I hope we get it anyway, I'll settle for Saturday if he HAS to delay it. And it's called Solitary Journey, people think it's about Natsu's journey but some people said it was going to be about Gildarts for some reason (I think they just miss him too much). Thanks again ****Amatheyst for reviewing! I didn't know you read the Attor series too! It's awesome isn't it!? ALSO, (I say this way too much) some of you may be wondering what Maria looks like as I haven't described her much, so I'll just tell you now. She has light green eyes, straight brown hair that goes to her chest when in a ponytail, and as she said herself, about an F cup chest (more like in between D and F).**

**On a side note, my dad's birthday is today so I'll submit this chapter WAAAY early in the day so I can spend time with him ^^. AND I found these two guys online who each made awesome dark themed poems I guess...? I'm not sure what they are but I know for sure I'll make a horror fic about them some day! So now I have a romance AU story, a spiritual AU story, and two horror stories on my waiting list...Well, it's a lot of work but they'll be awesome when I do 'em! BTW, I'm considering making a few of these new stories on my second account...what do you think?**

**Review plz~!**


	7. Message

**Hello~! First ,I got new followers and reviewers the other day, whosdatguy! (I love his name)and ****GrayBlueEyedBelle****! You guys don't know what your reviews do to me. Everytime I read a new one, I just feel like I'm fangirling so hard! Second, there was a snowstorm and the snow height was redonkulous. Third, I strongly recommend watching Beyond the Boundary, PMMM, and AKB0048. Fourth, one does not simply not read Pandora Hearts. Fifth, exams are over and I did well in all of my classes except Arabic. Totally bombed i but only got a B in the class so SAFE!Sixth, you may notice that this is early So I'll explain. I've been motivated by the new reviews to try harder to update more often. So now I'll update within a span of 3-8 days! I'm only doing this because I'm honestly not sure I can keep up with any kind of update schedule, so I'll keep it random now. Seventh, I'm going to start working on the first part of the Juvia angst story. But first, I need to know: Would any of you like to see previews of my other greenlit (i guess) stories? **

**On to the chapter now~**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

"How do you like it here?"

I turned to the barmaid at the sudden question,"I have only been here for less than a day, that is not enough time to form an opinion of a place."

Mirajane sighed at the my overly formal reply. At that moment, Lucy decided to walk over and sit down next to me. "So you're on a mission to capture Gray right? Why do you need him of all people?" She asked.

"That is classified information." I said coldly. Lucy huffed then started to pout, "Telling me isn't going to kill you" She mumbled. I stared at her for a moment before standing up and starting to walk toward a table where I could be hopefully left alone. I spotted one in the corner and turned toward it when something rammed into me from the side, nearly knocking me over.

When I regained my balance, I found what, or _who _had hit me. The pink haired boy, Natsu, was lying on the floor next to me. I was about to reach down and grab him when he suddenly sprang up, yelling about some Laxus person.

He started to run back to where he came from but I wouldn't let that happen. He was going to _pay_. With that in mind, I grabbed his scarf and yanked him back so that he was standing next to me. He whirled around to face me with fire in his eyes, fire that died as soon as he saw me. _He must've been expecting some rival of his._

"Apologize." I ordered, narrowing my eyes dangerously at him. He just stared at me in confusion and was about to say something when Lucy stomped over and smacked him upside the head. "What's wrong with you?! Knocking into her and not even apologizing!" She snapped. He winced before grumbling an apology.

After scaring him off, Lucy smiled at me and gave a thumbs up. I blinked then continued walking over to the table I was aiming for. As soon as I reached it, I practically collapsed into the chair next to it. _Maybe I should get some rest… _I thought as I put my head down.

* * *

_Oh, you're back._

**Yes.**

_Did you enjoy yourself, being on the outside?_

**...People here are odd.**

_Yes, but you must blend in,gain their trust._

**Then kill them when the job is done right?**

_Exactly, I've taught you well. You do remember your job don't you?_

**Yes. Capture Senryu and bring him to you.**

_You have your athame? _

**Yes, it is my only weapon at the moment.**

_Only one weapon? _

**I'm sure my magical abilities are sharp enough now.**

_I'm counting on you Maria._

**I won't let you down Mistress.**

* * *

My eyes flew open as I woke up with a jolt. Unfortunately, this jolt was strong enough to make my chair tilt back. Panicking for a few seconds, I windmilled my arms wildly to try and regain balance. Unknown to her, quite a few guild members were watching and snickering at her antics.

The windmilling went on for nearly half a minute before I slammed her feet on the ground. I gripped the table sides tightly while panting. _I could've sworn I saw my life flashing before my eyes!_

After recovering, I glanced around the room, noticing their stares. "W-What're you looking at?!" I yelled, crossing my arms.

Everyone just laughed and resumed their normal activities. _Whew, almost lost my composure...almost…_

I sighed then reached for my bag. I pulled out my journal, opened it to an empty page, and dug out a pen.

* * *

_**Today was my first day on the outside in years and I was taken to the Fairy Tail guild. Everyone here is odd, but I mustn't let that bother me. Here they call him Gray, although I do not know why. I wonder...does he possess the power of the seishin yet? I don't think so, he shows no symptoms of it yet. I hope Number 14 doesn't find me here. She'd ruin everything. I'd fail my mission.**_

_**To capture Senryu**_

_-And protect him from __**her.**_

* * *

**OMFG, CHAPTER 418 WAS...good. We got to see Lucy and Natsu after the timeskip so the last page of chapter 417 lied. We only saw what happened to Lucy, not EVERYONE like it said. Oh well, Lucy got longer hair which looks WAY more mature than pigtails and fits her age a little too. But Natsu got longer hair too and it looks CRAZY, I CAN'T ADJUST! HE NEEDS A .And his black cloak resembled Zeref's. AND HE LITERALLY STARTED MELTING THE STADIUM, WHA?! TOO OP, WAY TOO OP! SLOW DOWN! I can't wait to see what everyone else looks like. I hope Lisanna grew her hair to almost shoulder length, it fits her personality ^^. I hope Gray DOES NOT have a ponytail, I'd rage so hard if it happened. I hope puberty hits Wendy like a bus, I hope either Erza or Mira have ponytails, and we all know the Fairy Tail guild isn't really over. Also,the other guilds didn't participate in the GMG because 'if Fairy Tail isn't there, there's no point'. Rant,over. **

**BTW does anyone want anything to happen to Maria while she's in the guild? Like you want her to meet someone specifically? If not, I'm gonna start the fast pacing. Along with the fast pacing, comes another OC~!**

**Review plz~**


	8. Trap

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

"Ito, number 43, please report to Madam's quarters. Number 43, Ito, report to Madam's quarters at once."

Said girl looked up from her collection of stuffed animals she'd been toying with. "Ito, don't keep the mistress waiting," Her mother advised. "Yes mother" Ito said, standing then walking to the door. "Don't get lost on the way this time" Her mother said. "Yes mother" Ito repeated, shutting the door.

Ito walked down the eerily silent and empty halls, following the map in her head. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, fast ones. She was turning a corner when something slammed into her, knocking her onto her back.

"Ah! I'm sorry! Sorry!" an unfamiliar voice squeaked in alarm. Ito sat up and rubbed the back of her head, "It's my fault, I should've looked first" she said. She looked up at the owner of the unfamiliar voice and almost gasped.

It was a girl about her age. She had long black hair with some streaks of red which was partially covered by a captain's hat with a white bow that shielded her eyes from view. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with a white tank top on top, a black skirt that reached a little higher than her knees, and white shoes with small heels.

"Who are you?" Ito asked, snapping out of her stupor.

"Me? I'm Noroi. It's nice to meet you Ito-san."

* * *

"Maria-san? Are you alright?"

I snapped out the trance I'd fallen in from staring blankly at my journal. Looking up, I stared into the concerned eyes of Wendy. "Yes, I'm fine" I assured, hoping she'd go away. "You look pale," She said.

"That's my skin color, and I said I'm fine" I dismissed. She seemed to get the message this time because she nodded hesitantly and walked off. I picked up my journal and was about to put it back in my bag when I was bothered _again. _

"Heh? So you use a diary?" Lucy asked curiously, looking over my shoulder. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance as I answered, "Yes, what about it?". Lucy smiled and said "Oh nothing. It's just that you don't seem like the kind of person to use that sort of stuff."

Suddenly, I felt like I was forgetting something. I knitted my eyebrows together, completely blocking out Lucy and her words. _What was it? It was something...I do all the time…_

"That's it!" I exclaimed, startling Lucy and getting a few stares from others. "I can't believe I forgot about this," I finished, placing my journal back on the table and opening it to a blank page. "Forgot about what?" Lucy asked, but I ignored her and stayed focused on my task.

"Buki shōkan: Athame" I chanted, causing a magenta colored light to emit from my left hand. A second or two later, the light faded to reveal an athame knife resting on my palm. I grabbed it and cut my thumb, making a few drops of blood drip onto the blank pages.

"_**De cruore beatis cognitio existendi reveletur. Hoc rubrum atramentum libro scribere debuisse" **_I chanted.

The blood on the pages glowed scarlet and began moving on its own, forming letters and symbols. I sensed everyone around me staring and heard a few gasps. After many seconds, the blood stopped moving and the glow faded.

"W-What was that?" Lucy whispered in awe and shock. I was too distracted to answer. I was reading today's report to see if everything was accurate. It should have recorded all of today's events.

It did.

* * *

_Creeeeak_

"Madam? You called for me?"

Ito stood in the doorway of Madam's quarters, glancing around nervously. "Is she even in here? It's so dark…" Noroi inquired. "She wouldn't call for me if she wasn't here," Ito answered.

_Clank _

Both girl jumped at the sound. "What was tha-AGH!" Noroi was sent flying back into the wall by some invisible force. "N-Noroi-san?!" Ito stuttered, frozen in fear. The other girl didn't respond and stayed slouched against the wall.

"Ah, Ito, I was expecting you," A voice said. Ito looked around frantically while taking tiny steps back towards the door. A few lights came on but not enough to brighten the entire room. There was a part of the room still shrouded in darkness, almost like an abyss.

"W-Who's there?!" Ito cried fearfully, glancing back to the door only to see that it had shut. Something moved in the darkness before a figure stepped into the light. "Madam…?" Ito almost whispered, feeling a small amount of relief seeing her queen.

"Ito-chan, do you know why I called you here?" Madam asked, standing stiff as a statue. "T-To do a job?" Ito asked, hoping she was right. "That's exactly correct. Do you know what kind of job?" Madam asked, now taking a step forward.

Ito took a step back, "Tinkering? Assisting?". Madam chuckled and suddenly she was gone. Ito only had time to blink before a hand slammed into her throat and pinned her against the wall.

"Ma..gh..hhh" She choked, thrashing in vain. Madam had her fingers wrapped around Ito's neck while wearing a unnaturally wide smile. "You're going to do a special job. A very special job you should be honored to do. And of course your little friend is going to be joining you."

Ito's struggling started getting weaker as black dots started clouding her vision.

"I thank you for your cooperation…"

Madam looked her dead in the eyes.

"..._my little experiment_."

* * *

**Yay! Long chapter and faster pacing!This is because of the motivation I got from the explosion of reviews lately. While typing this, I planned out the plot. I managed to list everything I wanted to happen in order and I must say...I have a plot twist that's mind destroying. I might put my other story on some sort of hiatus since I have everything planned out for this and not that. And the fact that I want to start incorporating things from this into the main story.**

**The plot twist might be a bit of a shocker, and lets just say I hope you don't hate me for ki-I mean, injuring a character. Just injuring. Yep. Also, we'll see kid Astrid again eventually. I decided to have her play a side role in this. **

**Sorry for the spoils in the author's notes but I need to rant somewhere XD. Also, the reason I haven't described or had many interactions with FT's original characters is because I want to see what they're like after the timeskip. If I write them in but after the timeskip they're completely different, I'll just go crazy and stop making this due to lack of inspiration. **

**Review pls~! (Although to overload of reviews lately gave me a heart attack, you guys are just so amazing! thank you,thank you,thank you, thank you!)**


	9. Surprise Arrival

**This is my first time making a special like this, and I'm not the best when it comes to writing romance. But, for you I'll try my best! I saw the spoilers for chapter 420 and appearently it's about Wendy. T^T I don't hate her or anything but I really don't want to see her right now. I would rather see Gray and Juvia...my otp…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot**

* * *

"So Maria,"

I sighed at the mention of my name. I was sure I'd scared them off with my magic earlier, they all backed off a little. But then they started questioning me. Of course, I didn't answer any of them.

"Do you like anyone?" Happy asked, flying above my head. He, Natsu, Erza, and Lucy came over and sat at my table a few minutes ago. Natsu was currently chowing down, food flying in every direction. Lucy was reading a rather thick book, and Erza was watching me while eating a piece of strawberry cake.

"I haven't been around long enough to know everyone's name, let alone develop feelings for anyone" I scoffed. Lucy looked up from her book briefly and said "The way you act seems pretty arrogant you know."

"I couldn't care less what you freaks think of me" I said and meant it. "You shouldn't be saying things like that," Erza warned. "We're showing you a lot of hospitality." I just rolled my eyes and started cleaning my athame. It still had a little blood on it from the little ritual earlier.

"So...do you like anyone? Even a little?" Lucy asked hesitantly.I clenched my fist in irritation _I'll just come up with something to shut her up._ "I don't dislike you or the barmaid, simply because of your hair tie and her food." _Geez, these people are so nosy! _

Lucy looked like she was about to start pouting, but instead just lifted her book closer to her face. The guild was calm at the moment, the lull in between brawls. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Erza spoke up, having finished her cake. "It's getting kind of late, we should head home soon."

_Finally! _"Right we should get going but…" Lucy said as she turned to me. "You don't have anywhere to stay do you?". I froze as I realized this.I coughed then said "No, I don't have any money to rent a place either."

"You can stay at my place!" Lucy exclaimed cheerfully. "...It's not a bad idea…" I agreed reluctantly. "I'll spend the night too," Erza said. "To make sure you don't do anything funny." I was about to retort when the guild doors flew open, making almost everyone inside flinch or jump.

* * *

A lone figure stood in the doorway in silence. They were wearing a black cloak with a hood shadowing their face and body._It's..him?!_ No one showed any signs of recognition but I knew that attire anywhere. I shot up from my seat and sprinted toward the person.

I heard everyone's cries of alarm ,but ignored them. As I reached the hooded person, I tackled them in a hug. "Archi-senpai!" I squealed excitedly. The impact of my hug was enough to knock back his hood and reveal him face. He laughed a little and patted my head. _I can't believe he found me~!_

"Yo Maria, it's been a while" he said with a small grin. "Where'd you go? Everyone was so worried!" I fumed, not letting go of him. "By everyone, you mean you. Stop worrying so much, you'll get wrinkles" He teased as he took the hair tie out of my hair, letting it fall free. I froze, took a step back, then scowled at him. He laughed again and said, "You're the same as ever."

Lucy and Erza walked up to us. "Who is this?" Erza asked. "You two seem quite close~" Lucy mused, waggling her eyebrows at me suggestively. I just stayed focused on Senpai though. "So why're you here?" I asked, having regained my composure.

"For Ito-chan," he said. I looked at him in confusion, "Ito's not with me." Now he looked at me in confusion, "What? Mistress told me she followed you…" he said. This just confused me further. Why would Mistress say that? She knows Ito is far too clumsy to follow me stealthily. Archi just scratched the back of his head as Lucy and Erza looked on with interest and curiosity.

"Why would Mistress lie?" he muttered.

* * *

**So I failed horribly. I started with the intention of making a romance thing but ran out of time so I had to add plot instead. Sorry, but this is all I have at the moment. Anyway, this chapter was rushed with only 1 minute to spare till midnight so...yeah! Don't judge.**

**Review pls~!**


	10. Torture

**Herro. As I type this, I'm trying not to suffocate because I started coughing rather violently. Thankfully, typing doesn't require talking unless it's to myself. Thank you Amethystfairy1 and GrayEyedBlueBelle for the reviews.!And sorry, but I can't have a lot of fighting right now, I need to be able to evaluate Gray's power correctly (perfectionist issues) before I can have him fight anyone. Also, I forgot to say this but my cat is probably dead. Unbelievably, I don't feel much from that news. I just accepted. I feel like the name is out of place and kinda misleading for this story. Got any ideas for a new one? 'The Mission'? 'My Mission'? Now, onto the chapter~!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own the plot and OCs**

**WARNING: Torture and violence.**

* * *

**_Day 2 of infiltration,_**

**_Yesterday, Archi-senpai came. He said he was looking for Ito and not for me. I would be jealous, but Ito is missing. She was always somewhat of an airhead, but she always made it back home. I'm worried. It appears that Mistress lied. I refuse to believe it. Mistress would never lie to us. I'll follow her to the grave._**

A hand landed on my shoulder making me jump. "Maria, you still use those kinds of things?"

I turned to see Archi standing behind me with a mildly amused expression. In response to his remark, I crossed my arms defensively. "So what? Is there a problem with it?"_ He may be my Senpai, but he's not my boss._

"Nah, I was just thinking that you're a bit too old for that kind of stuff now" He said nonchalantly. "You're never too old to document stuff" I retorted. Archi grinned then dismissed himself to go get a beer.

After he left, I couldn't help the small smile that my lips curled into._ It's...good to be around him again. But…_ I looked down at my journal entry, the smile fading from my features.

_Ito…_

* * *

_"AAAAAAAAHHHHH"_

Her screams of agony bounced off the bunker's walls. Ito was currently chained down to a metal table, her screams caused by the woman who was wielding a picana. "...Are you ready to tell now?" the woman asked leisurely. "Hah...hah... I t-told you, I'm n-not hiding a-anything" Ito whimpered.

The woman merely raised a brow then shoved a photograph in Ito's face. "You're telling me...you don't know the location of this girl?" The woman questioned. Ito looked at the photograph of Maria and weakly shook her head. The woman then tucked the photo back into her breast pocket and turned to doorway where Mistress was standing.

"What do you think Miss?" The woman asked. Mistress merely smiled and walked up to the woman. "...Let me have a go" She murmured. The woman blinked a few times before grinning and placing the picana in Mistress' hands with delight. "Go ahead."

"M-Madam," Ito whispered, trying to reach out to her even with restraints. Mistress smiled down at her gently as the picana in her hands inched closer to the girl's abdomen. "H-He-AAAAAOUGH" Ito screamed as Mistress shoved the picana onto her exposed skin. Mistress' smiled widened as a more sadistic aura started emitted from her.

"W-Why?" Ito whispered as tears started forming in her eyes. "Ito-chan, I've already told you" Mistress said. "You're going to do a special job. A very special job you should be honored to do. And of course your little friend is going to be joining you."

Ito's eyes widened, suddenly remembering that she wasn't the only one going through this pain. "Wh-where-"

"She's in a different containment area, enduring an experiment. Same as you" The woman said, walking up next to Mistress. "W-Who are you anyway? Why me? What's so special about me?" Ito questioned, an unfamiliar emotion bubbling up inside her.

The woman tapped her chin in thought for a moment before saying, "My name is Isha, but you will call me Doctor." Mistress nodded in approval before speaking again. "You were selected among dozens of children because of your ability."

Ito's eyes widened once again, and fear made her heart skip a beat. _How could she have known about that-_ "How could I have known about that?" Mistress said, voicing her thoughts. "Oh Ito-chan, don't you know? Mistress knows and sees all."

Mistress started backing away from the table and towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to that other brat." Ito's hands balled into fists and her eyes narrowed into slits. Mistress looked at her and giggled, "What's that dirty glare for hmm? You should be honored to be chosen for such a thing. From your suffering, we'll get the power we need."

Doctor looked down at her, clearly eager to get back to her torture but Ito ignored her. She ignored everything, even the pain in her side from the earlier assault. For she had realized what that unfamiliar feeling was. And she accepted it with open arms.

"So this is...what anger feels like..."

* * *

**Yay development! It took me a while to figure out what I should do with Ito since she'd been captured. Torture is always an option! Now that she's all fired up, we might get a little rebellion. Maybe...Anyway, if you don't know what a picana is, it's a wand or prod that delivers a high voltage but low current electric shock to a torture victim. I had to look it up. THANKS WIKIPEDIA~!**

**And, chapter 421 was kinda good. Finally, Wendy shows some independence. I completely agree with Carla, Natsu and Lucy shouldn't try and force her to go just because they want her back, she can act on her own y'know. Apparently Sherry is getting married..well good for her I guess, and Mashima don't even try to pull the pity friend card, everyone saw how well they got along at the GMG so it's pointless. Oh no! Lamia Scale is under attack! Good thing Chelia totally stole Natsu's thunder for all those nalu fans out there saying the panel where Lucy and Natsu were standing next to each other was a nalu moment, fack off. Stop being so desperate and try acting mature for once.**

**Ahem, now that that rant is done, on to the announcement! In the Book of Fate story, I'll be letting the characters use weapons. However, I can't decide which weapon should go to who. I've already decided Astrid's weapon, so that option unfortunately isn't available. BUT I do have a selection of weapons and people for you to match up if you wish. The weapons: Athame, sword, guns, staff, or any other weapon you can think of. The people: Minho, Gray, Ayano. I'm really torn so please vote!**

**On a side note, I started watching and reading Assassination Classroom. It's really entertaining. That's all for this chapter, bai~**


	11. Last Letter

**Hello~! Unfortunately, I'm not ready to move on with the plot yet so, more Astrid! Sorry for you all who were hoping for more Maria/Ft but no can do. I'm debating whether or not I should keep Astrid's bits in here. It's pretty out of place don't you think? Also,I've decided to split this story into two arcs; The Maria Arc (Current) and the Doll arc, the arc about how Gray gets captured and stuff. The transition will happen soon, when Maria goes back home.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

"Ah it's a message from Garry-san!" "Really?" "Yes, a servant brought it in." "Let me see! Lemme see!"

Astrid and Yui gathered around Shion, who held a slightly ripped envelope in her hands. "Hurry and open it!" Astrid urged, looking over her sister's shoulder. Shion smiled and opened the envelope. Upon pulling out the letter, she immediately noticed the wrinkles and stains on the usually perfect paper.

The handwriting was leaning on the illegible side, looking as if Garry's hand had been shaking when writing. With eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Shion started reading the text aloud.

_Dear children,_

_I'm currently in the country of Sin. I traveled here upon hearing of a string of orphan kidnappings. The culprit seems to be a woman and the victims ranged from 5 months to 5 years old. I know how much you want to see me, but I must bring this woman to justice. You know how I feel about children don't you? Unfortunately, I lost quite a few packs of paper, which is why this paper is so beaten. _

_Children, please read the remainder of this letter calmly. This was written a few days after the first half of the letter and many things have happened. I've managed to track down the woman and what I found made me begin to head home. I found the woman's base and discovered that she is experimenting on the children! It seems that she is brainwashing some of them to do tasks. I'm not sure of the details but the rest of them are being tortured for the experiment. Her base is underground. I'll be sure to send the details in a letter to your parents. When you finish reading this, please deliver this to your parents or their advisors. _

_Sincerely, Garry_

* * *

Shion silently refolded the letter and put it back into the envelope. "...Onee-sama, what does this mean?" Yui hesitantly asked. "Will Garry-san be alright?" Astrid asked, clearly worried about his well-being. Shion didn't respond to either of them, and instead stood from her stool and walked toward the door.

She slid the door open and stepped through it. "Onee-sama…?" Yui called with a sliver of fear in her voice. Without turning around, Shion said "...Garry-san is going to return soon. Until then, we should just follow his instructions. I'm going to give the letter to Mother and Father." With that, she closed the door and walked away.

Yui looked at Astrid who looked back at her. After a long moment, Astrid stood and said "...Onee-sama is right. There's nothing we can do if he's so far away. Let's just go back to our sessions alright?" Yui blinked and slowly nodded.

Astrid smiled then walked out the room. She'd just reached the end of the hall when she spotted Sensei and another woman talking. Astrid quickly ducked low and went in the shadows.

"Garry's letter...the master seems quite distraught about it."

"Of course, anyone would be unnerved if they heard talk of something that involved their family."

"My God, is it something about the children?" "Unfortunately, Garry mentioned something about adding extra protection."

"What? Is there going to be some kind of assassination attempt?"

"If Garry gets caught, there might as well be."

"Don't be...Astrid-sama?" Sensei said, suddenly turning toward her. Astrid flinched then stepped into the middle of the hallway, "Yes ma'm?"

"Go to the training room, from now on your training will be raised to level three." Astrid's eyes widened '_That's...almost Onee-sama's level of training!'. _"Really?" She asked in excitement. Sensei smiled slightly in amusement and nodded. "Yay!" Astrid cheered as she ran toward the training room.

As she past the ajar door to the basement however, her nose wrinkled at the smell of rotten eggs. "That must be where they make our vegetables. Yuck!" she said with a gag.

* * *

"Shion, you do understand don't you?"

She lowered her head and nodded sadly. "...Is there really no avoiding it?" she asked. Her mother,Kotoka, nodded with a grim expression. "I'm sorry, but according to the letter, he might not come back."

Shion couldn't stop the small whimper that escaped her. Kotoka reached out and patted her daughter's head lovingly. "With luck and guidance, he will return to us" she whispered. Shion's shoulders started shaking with silent sobs.

"Shion, as the eldest you have to be strong for your sisters" Kotoka said softly. Shion wiped her eyes violently, but the tears didn't stop. "I know, I know" she said over and over. "As of Garry-san's supposed departure, I will take over as the right hand advisor when I come of age" She sniffled.

Kotoka smiled sadly and hugged her child. "That's right. You will be the advisor, Astrid will be the mage, and Yui will be the negotiator."

"Can we at least read the letter he sent you?" Shion asked. Kotoka only hugged her tighter and said "There's no need for you to do such a thing."

* * *

**I read chapter 423. Gruvia is going down. My otp is going down. Wendy regressed completely as a character. Natsu is as strong as Gildarts so no point in having any other villains than Acnologia and Zeref. He one-shotted Bluenote guys. Bluenote, Gildarts' equal. I'm calling major BS but whatever. On to Juvia's arc! She looked pretty numb in the rain. Something must've happened to Gray. I hope he's demon hunting for a living. **

**On a side note, yesterday was the birthday of a Pandora Hearts character; Oswald Baskerville. Even if you don't know who he is, give him a happy birthday post somewhere for me? Also, I'm going to try going on an update schedule again. Every Tuesday/Wednesday starting next week sounds good. Wish me luck! And don't worry about what Garry's letter said. I'll show it soon enough!**


	12. Just a Little Test

**Oh God. I made someone cry. I wasn't expecting this AT ALL. I knew this was going to get dark but wow...I might just make you all suffer. Sorry if I do (still stunned) O-O. Jk, I'm prohibited from doing gory stuff by my mother. She said it was 'too dark' and social services,blah, blah, blah. To be honest, if it wasn't for that, I was going to cut of someone's head.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's.**

* * *

..._IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS_

Those were the only thoughts that bounced around in her head now. All she felt was pain, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept. Her tormentor had left the room a few minutes ago, claiming that they had to talk to someone important.

She tugged on her chains that bound her arms above her head. They were still bolted in place, but the screws were a little loose. When the lingering pain faded, she looked around the room for the nth time since she'd been thrown in here.

It was a large room with walls decorated with a checkered design. There were shelves lined with creepy dolls of all sorts; plush, porcelain,stuffed. But the odd things was, all of them eerily resembled humans, especially the ones modeled after children.

Next, she surveyed her bruised and beaten body. Her legs were severely burned and covered in scratches and cuts. From her hips to her collarbone were no injuries whatsoever. Her face only had a scratch or two.

"Nora-chan~!"

Noroi tensed as the tormentor neared her 'room'. 'Nora' was just a nickname the tormentor had given her, saying her real name wasn't girly enough. The clicks of her heels echoed off the walls of the hallway that led to her 'room'. A moment later, the sliding door to her left flew open and in stomped her tormentor.

"Kiren-sama has returned~!" she said as she practically skipped over to Noroi. "I just had a little chat with the other _operator, _and she said we could begin the actual experiment!" Kiren said excitedly. Noroi looked on with wariness and annoyance.

"You're just starting now huh? What was all that before then? And what experiment?" Noroi questioned with unusual calmness. Kiren remained silent as she reached into the pocket and pulled out a small device. It was about the size of a book and had wire and tubes sticking out of it. "Now for the mental segment~!"

She walked over to Noroi and ungracefully jammed the end of a tube that had a needle on it into Noroi's neck. Then, she pressed a button on the device that made it light up. A moment later, she looked down at the smaller girl and said, "Don't worry Nora-chan. This is just...a little test".

Noroi stared at the woman in confusion for only a few seconds before everything went black.

* * *

…

_Her eyes snapped open. She sat up and looked around. There was nothing but a black abyss above her. Only a giant chess board beneath her. And statues standing in place of the pieces. She stood up and walked up to the statue in the Queen's place. The first thing she noticed was that it had no clothes. But, it only showed the outline of the 'person', no details._

_It seemed to be the height of a teen and was female due to the bulges on the statue's chest. It's hair was tied up in a single ponytail, which stopped a few inches below her shoulders. The oddest thing was, the statue had an expression of terror instead of the usual blankness. _

_Next, she moved to the knight 'pieces'. They too were statues of people, but one was a boy, one was a girl. Both of them were about as tall as the Queen one. However, unlike the first one, they had clothes. They both wore cloaks that hid everything from the neck down. _

_The female statue had her hair styled into two curls on both sides of her head, just beneath her ears. The boy had short, somewhat messy hair. His bangs were brushed mostly to the right. Both his and the girl's expressions were blank. _

_She stared at the boy statue for a long moment. Something about him was different from the others. She decided he liked him the most. Finally, she moved to the single piece in the bishop's place. It too was a boy with a cloak and a blank expression. It's bangs reached an inch or two below it's chin. _

"_**Noroi**_"

_She turned toward the source of the voice only to see nothing. She turned back around after a moment only to find the pieces had disappeared. _

"_**Noroi, Noroi,**_"

_She looked down, and the white sections of the board had turned blood red. She looked up and stared. _

_Stared right into the eyes of a monster._

* * *

**Yes I know this chapter is a day late, and I'm sorry. But when I read the spoilers and saw the images of the last chapter of PH yesterday...I cried and got depressed. At least a ship is canon (Yay? I never really cared :P). I almost gave up on typing this. Now I'm recovering but chapter 424 of FT. I got my wish. We saw Gray...in a dark guild and slicked back hair. He's totally infiltrating it (or he's getting taken over by his magic which is an entirely different thing). I saw this coming a mile away and the only thing that made me freak was his hair. I hate it, and hope Cancer doesn't leave it alone. On the bright side, Gray and Juvia spent half a year together. ALONE. Aaah~, my otp~!**


	13. Dream World

**Still trying to shorten these notes, so I'll be straight forward. I couldn't update on time because my computer/internet imploded again. Also I got a little depressed because I lost my student ID yesterday (found it)and again today. I guess I'll just have to look in the lost and found... Sting looks the same, Rogue's hair looks unkempt, Minerva is nice, Juvia is out of the picture, and Gray is definitely a demonic being now from his magic taking over. NOTE: I will be remastering both this and my other story, meaning I will be editing past chapters. You might see strong connections or things from that story in this one, vice versa. Now, LET'S GO GO GO!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF MASHIMA'S**

* * *

"_**Hey, hey, Noroi-chan follow me…"**_

_She did as she was told. The monster had been leading her through whatever this place was for a while. Her surroundings had changed multiple times after she left the chess board. First a black forest, then a huge spider web, a field with wavy blue grass, then her current one; a broken toy box. _

_There were no toys though, just a hollow shell. It resembled ruins more than a structure. Chunks of the place were everywhere, like it had exploded from the inside. To say it was eerie was an understatement. It seemed as if dolls would start climbing over the chunks of walls any second. The dead silence didn't help either._

"_**Who are you? What is this place?"**_ _Noroi asked curiously. The monster didn't respond for a long moment, but when it did, it whipped around to face her. She once again took in it's appearance. It was wearing a top hat decorated with flowers, but had no head to support it. As such, there was no mouth but she still heard a voice speaking for it. The rest of it's body was like that of a mannequin; white, stiff, and shiny. It had no distinguishing gender features, so she labeled it as an 'it'. _

_The closest thing it had to clothes were the bandages wrapped around it's neck and torso. It 'looked' at her for a moment then 'spoke'. The voice sounded feminine enough, but something about the being in itself was masculine. _"_**I'm here, there, everywhere. I am he, she, and you. I am the chain that drags you down. I do not have a name, give me one."**_

_Noroi blinked at the figure a few times before snickering. "__**Do I humor you?" **__It asked. Noroi shook her head and looked It where it's eyes should be, "_ _**It's impossible to be everywhere and everyone….unless you're a God. By the chain that drags me down, I'm guessing you mean my past right? To tell the truth, I don't mind my clan disappearing. Their tampering in the occult and dark magic would've destroyed something sooner or later. As for your name, I'll call you **__**Saitzuko."**_

_Saitzuko 'laughed' then turned to resume their journey. Noroi started to follow it, "__**I'm guessing we're in my subconscious right? What are you? **__"_

_"__**I am a part of your mindscape**__," Saitzuko said. Noroi stopped with a sigh, "__**My mindscape? How do I get out?" **__She asked. Saitzuko suddenly disappeared. "__**...?"**_

_**A second later, a hand caressed her face from behind. Noroi's eyes widened a little but she didn't flinch. "The only way out is freedom. For that to be accomplished, I need to eat you," Saitzuko 's voice murmured into her ear. Noroi turned her head sideways, "Oh? Is this spider going to feast?" She mused. Several mannequin arms wrapped around her from behind. As they dragged her into the darkness she managed to whisper, "Don't hurt you host too badly okay?"**_

* * *

The alarm on the device went off. Kiren paused in her action of adjusting the dolls. She craned her neck to see Noroi still slumped against the wall. Kiren stepped away from the girl doll she'd been tampering with and stalked over to her prisoner.

As soon as she reached it, the device stopped blaring. She looked between Noroi and the device a few times then dismissed it with a shrug. She turned her back just as Noroi opened her eyes. She surveyed the room with her newly red irises. "My host has gotten herself into quite the bind hasn't she?" She giggled.

* * *

Ito opened her eyes. Her head was pounding. She vaguely wondered how long she'd been out this time. The clicking of heels signaled her torturer was still in the room. "Oh joy, you're awake," Doctor said.

Ito just kept staring at the ceiling. The sound of heels clicking got closer until they stopped right next to her. "Hey kid," Doctor called. Ito blinked and looked at the woman with hollow eyes. "Ever heard of dollification?"

Ito shook her head, prompting Doctor to explain. "It's a process in which the victim is transformed into a living doll. They will be able to breathe and blink, standard bodily fuctions, but they'll have the more physical limitations of an doll. For example, they won't be able to express any emotion except the one they're set to have. They won't have any free will, and will need people to guide them around and tell them to do things. It really is the perfect person,"

Ito stared at her blankly for a few moments then nodded absentmindedly. Doctor narrowed her eyes at her. "The first step is breaking the victim. Making them hollow, like you are now."

_Hollow...? So that's this odd feeling. I'm so tired...Maria-nee, please..._

"Eh? The numbness finally wear off?"

Ito jumped at Doctor's voice, having completely forgotten the woman was there. "You're crying," Doctor pointed out. Ito's eyes widened and she quickly looked away. Suddenly, fear struck her like a punch to the gut. Her eyes darted around the room in a slight panic, but found nothing particularly alarming.

She heard the creak of the door opening. "What the…" she heard Doctor muttered. She turned her head toward the doorway then froze. "N-Noroi...san…"

There she stood in the doorway. She had several wounds but the most alarming thing was the amount of blood splattered on her clothes and skin. She couldn't see her face clearly, but she could tell her friend was smiling. The look of shock on Doctor's face faded into interest and amusement. "My my…you killed her didn't you?" She mused.

Noroi lifted her head to reveal her glowing red eyes. Both Ito's and Doctor's eyes widened and their jaws went slack for a moment. Noroi chuckled and said, "I can't wait for the host to praise me for my work. You're going to be beautiful works of art~!"

* * *

**Once again sorry for the late update. I think I'll just start using Microsoft work now, I can't trust my internet anymore. I now have 41 followers on Tumblr, 23 followers on Anime Amino (app and I only posted 1 poll, nothing else), 3 followers on Art Amino (I didnt even post anything O_o), 315 followers on Google +! On a side note, anyone else notice how in the FT movie Gray looks sexy and actually his age while Natsu looks like a kid with eyes too big? It's funny how Gray looks more mature than Natsu even though they're in the same age group (Trying to dodge spoilers here). Also, so excited to see Gray who's definitely a demon and if he isn't in some way shape or form, I will flip next chapter of FT~! AND, look forward to getting back to Maria next chapter! It's about time they found Ito don't you think? And FYI, occult and the like involve demonic beings. Remember that for later ;).**


	14. Breaking the News

***Wheezing* HAHA, I MADE IT!THE DEADLINE! I FINALLY MADE IT! What? I missed it? Well if it weren't for the Author's block on my other story, I'D BEEN DONE! CALM DOWN? I'M PERFECTLY CALM! SEE?! *Gets dragged away* SEE?!**

**DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING OF MASHIMA'S. **

**WARNING: Blood, Sad stuff**

* * *

Silence. That's all she'd heard for the past few minutes. She really wanted to check on Kiren, but she was told to always stay in her room. '_I have to be a good girl' _ She thought to herself. Soon enough, the silence got old and boring. Even the screams of some little girl were better than this.

Eventually, she just couldn't take it anymore and snuck a peek through the keyhole. Red, red everywhere. She flinched away and sat frozen like that for a moment before looking again. Definitely red, but not as much as she thought. _Well...if something happened, I guess I have to go…_

With unusual slowness, she pushed the door open and crawled out. She rose to her feet, only to nearly faceplant seconds later. "My legs...I guess I sat too long," She said aloud. Once again, she looked at the room she was in. The dolls were still lined on the shelves, the checkered walls still black and white, but with splatters of red.

She crawled toward the door. If Kiren was dead, she'd just have to go to her mother. Shoving the door open, she felt cool air fill the room. She took a deep breath, savoring it, then started on her journey.

* * *

"Astrid," Shion called. The middle child turned at the sound of her name. "Onee-sama, welcome," She greeted politely. Shion had just walked in on her afternoon training session. "May I borrow her? We need to talk," Shion asked the elders. They all gave a nod of approval, and Astrid ran off the mat and into the hall.

Shion slid the door shut silently behind her. "So, what is it?" Astrid asked. Shion took a deep breath. "It's about Garry-san," She said. "Did he send another letter? Is he coming soon?" Astrid questioned excitedly. Shion's expression shifted from neutral to grim. "Actually...it's the opposite."

The smile faded from Astrid's face almost instantly. "What do you mean?" She asked hesitantly. Shion didn't respond. "Onee-sama?" Astrid called, a bit of fear seeping into her voice. "What ha-""He's dead." Astrid froze and whatever she was about to say died in her throat. "What?" She whispered. "Garry-san...he's dead," Shion deadpanned.

"You...you're lying," Astrid whispered with a shaking voice. "I'm being entirely honest, Garry-san is dead," Shion repeated. "LIER!" Astrid cried, shoving past her sister and running to the main hall. Shion stood stunned for a moment before running after her. As soon as Astrid reached the main door, she threw it open and darted outside. She'd just made it to the front gate when Shion tackled her to the ground. "He'll come back! He promised he would!" Astrid sobbed while thrashing to get loose.

Shion grabbed her shoulders and shook her," Snap out of it already! He's dead! Gone forever! He's _never_ coming back! Stop acting like such a child!" Astrid's eyes widened, and she stopped moving. Shion quickly realized what she'd said, "Astrid-" _crack_

She was knocked back by the force of Astrid's punch. Astrid stood up panting and tears still flowing from her eyes. "...You're right. He's like never coming back, not for _you!" _Astrid yelled. With that, she turned and ran out the front gates and disappeared into the wilderness beyond.

Shion weakly stood and turned toward the house. On the edge of her vision she saw Yui dart from the window. Something wet fell on her chest. She looked up to see it had begun drizzling. Along with the rain came her tears. "I...don't have time for despair. I have to keep working. She's free to do what she wants, not my responsibility," She muttered brokenly as she trudged back inside.

* * *

Ito watched with wide eyes as blood dripped from the walls and ceiling. _Noroi _was wearing a sinister smile and more blood was on her clothes now. "N-Noroi…" Ito whispered in horror. Her friend remained silent as she broke her restraints with inhuman strength. "W-What-""Shhh." Ito obediently and quickly shut her mouth at her friend's shushing. "Someone's coming," _Noroi _said.

Ito looked at her in confusion then strained her ears. She found if she tried hard enough, she could hear footsteps, although very quiet ones. "Let's wait for our guest," _Noroi _giggled. So they did. They waited several minutes for the footsteps to get to the door, which they eventually did. However, whoever it was did not step into the light.

"...You killed her too?" a feminine voice said. "Indeed I did," _Noroi_ admitted. "But you see, she happened to torturing a dear friend, so I had to get rid of her." The feminine voice remained silent. Finally, someone crawled into the light, a girl. She had orange pigtails that barely reached her shoulders, and wore a brown dress so torn, it was more like a large rag.

"Dear...friend..?" The girl muttered. Ito sat up and swung her legs over the side of the table. "Who are you?" She asked. "Name...my name…" The girl muttered. Ito looked at Noroi who glanced back.

"That's right...my name, my name is Ayano."

* * *

"You're leaving?"

I managed to remain stone-faced at the sadness in Lucy's voice. "That's right," I say bluntly. I felt Archi's gaze boring into the side of my head, but ignore it. Finding Ito is our most vital asset right now. Sure, capturing Gray would be nice too, but Ito is practically my little sis.

"It has something to do with this 'Ito' person doesn't it?" Erza inquired. I didn't even try to hide the look of discomfort that I knew crossed my features. This chick definitely eavesdropped on Archi and I's conversations. Creepy. "Yes, it does. But, it doesn't involve you all in the slightest," I say.

A look of hurt crossed Lucy's face. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but I can't help my bluntness. "But, we're friends right?" She said hopefully. Was she expecting me to stay? HA! "Friends? Yeah right. I'm grateful for you saving me and everything, but I only stayed to capture Gray Fullbuster. Unfortunately, an ally of ours has disappeared as of late. We need to leave, and go search for her. By ourselves."

Another look of hurt crossed Lucy's face. Archi elbowed me in the side, and I glared at him. It's not my fault she's so naive. I noticed Erza staring at me. I stared back of course, straight into her eyes. "I appreciate your honesty, but are you sure you don't want us to accompany you?" Erza asked. "I'm positive," I say.

With that, I turned on my heel and started walking to the door. I've barely put a toe out the door when something slammed into my head, making everything go black.

* * *

**As you all saw, I'm getting hysterical about my other story. I think I might actually give up on it. I just don't have that same spark ;-;, I've lost my muse entirely. I feel like starting over (It's a habit, it kept me from finishing stories I made before FF. I only ever finished one out of the dozens I made. I keep getting to a certain part then suddenly want to rip it up and start over). *Depressed sigh* If ANY of you have ANYthing you want to see happen in either story, just tell me and I'll try to incorporate it in there. **

**On a side note, I saw Fast and Furious 7. It was AWESOME! GUNS, EXPLOSIONS, CARS, ABBS, BOOTY! That's basically a vague summary of the whole movie. And FNAF and AOT are getting movies *facepalm* Hollywood is setting itself up for failure...**

**I nearly forgot to mention, this 'Maria' arc is about ¾ done I think. I just need a few more things to happen before I make ***** meet ***** only to be *****ed by ***** who turns out to be ******. Then I'll add the twist by having ***** from my other story actually be the ****** of *******. Note: I'll be directly adding characters from my other story into this one. I think because of this, I'll stop that one until I finish this one. Ah plot twists, so bitter yet so sweet~!**

Questions:What are your opinions on chapter titles? I might add some... And is it a good idea to reboot my other story entirely? Like change the plot entirely from a certain point but still have the same things happen? I've tried for hours at a time for 3 days straight and I don't think I'm getting anywhere...


	15. Pawns

**I realized I stopped asking for reviews openly. I guess I've accepted asking does nothing. I've also realized what as soon as I get past a certain point on any story, the reviews stop. Everyone suddenly became silent readers except for maybe one person if even. Oh well, I'll just keep going till I run outta steam.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

"This one…I want him…"

"Exactly, I've taught you well. You do remember your job don't you?

"Capture Senryu and bring him to you."

"You will serve your master as long as you live. Follow orders without question, never disobey."

"If you absolutely must depart, use this to complete your mission immediately."

* * *

My head is pounding when I come back to awareness. Did I black out? "...happened," I hear someone say. A jolt unexpectedly shoots through my body, making my eyes snap open. The scene before me looks like the aftermath of a fight. Everyone was gathered around me, talking amongst themselves.

Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Wendy, and Gray Fullbuster are also in the middle of the ring. They all look weird, like they're slightly above me. Suddenly, it occurs to me that I'm on the ground and someone is pinning me down. I crane my neck to look up and see Archi staring down at me.

I raise my eyebrows to ask the silent question, What happened? He gave a slight shake of the head, Can't tell you. Ah! She's awake!" I hear Lucy exclaim. "What happened?" I ask. "I thought you wouldn't remember, with the way you did it…" She muttered. "Did what?" I ask. Gray turned and walked toward me. I notice a new scratch on his face that went from the left side of his hairline to just below his left eye. It looked fresh, in fact it was bleeding a bit. "What happened to your face?" I ask with amusement. "Your knife happened," he said in an annoyed tone.

I scowl at him. All this vagueness is starting to annoy me. "Alright, stop beating around the bush and tell me," I order. I hear Archi sigh from above me, then I feel his weight leave my back. "You attacked him," he admits.I raise a brow in question, "Attacked? Like fists flying, tooth and nail?". Archi gave a slight nod. "You used the emergency knife." I feel my eyes go wide, and my mouth goes dry. "I...what?" I manage to say. Archi just shakes his head and helps me up. "I'll explain."

* * *

"I appreciate your honesty, but are you sure you don't want us to accompany you?" Erza asked. "I'm positive," Maria said. With that, she turned and started walking to the door. The tip of her shoe had just barely made it out the door when she suddenly froze. She started muttering something incoherent, clutching her head, and hunching slightly.

"Maria…?" Archi called, taking a step toward her. She froze again then straightened. Archi went to reach for her shoulder when she suddenly turned around. "What is it?" he asked. "... to fail…" he heard her mutter. "Huh?"

"Do not fail…" she whispered, taking a stiff step forward. Without warning, she leaped forward with a strangled cry, summoned a small knife, and cut Gray with it all in an instant. He let out a small cry of pain and stumbled a little. Archi's eyes widened along with everyone else's. He recovered from the shock first, and bolted toward Maria, quickly pinning her down. "What the hell Maria?!" he shouted.

She didn't seem to hear him. "Donotfaildonotfaildonotfaildonotfail," She kept muttering. After a moment, Wendy rushed over and tried to tend to Gray's wound. Lucy and Erza were left staring at Maria in shock and slight horror. "Maria…?" Lucy whispered.

The door creaked open and she poked her head inside. "Mistress?" she called hesitantly. "What is it?" said Mistress without turning to look at her. "I was sent to deliver a message," the girl said quietly. Mistress half turned to her, "It's about Kiren and Isha isn't it? I am already aware of their deaths."

"I-Is that so? W-Well, that was the message I was sent to convey so I should go…" The girl stammered, slowly closing the door. "Wait," Mistress called, fully turning to the girl. She froze then opened the door a little wider. "Y-Yes?" she squeaked. "...Come here," Mistress said kindly. The girl glanced back the way she came, to the corridor, before stepping inside fully and shutting the door behind her. Mistress walked over to her and grabbed a lock of her caramel colored hair, much to the girl's surprise. "M-M-Mistress?" she stuttered in surprise and nervousness.

"You really..resemble her a lot," Mistress murmured, completely ignoring the girl's shocked reaction. "If only your hair was a shade darker, and your body a bit more developed…" she continued to mutter. After a long moment she let the girl's hair fall back to her shoulder. The girl gave a sigh of relief. "Mari," Mistress called.

"Yes?"

"You still have your manipulation abilities, correct?"

"Yes, I've been practicing them everyday is class like you told me to."

Mistress smiled at this and put her hand atop Mari's head. "You shall be my new servant," she said suddenly. Mari blinked, "Huh? Isn't Miss Maria already your servant?" Mistress didn't react. "That's right. But, if everything goes the way I predict it will, then I will need a new one soon. So, I'll appoint you now," she said calmly.

* * *

Noroi's fingers gently ran along the sleek polished side of the gigantic tube. "What is that?" Ito asked hesitantly, coming up behind her. "It contains all of the magic that was drained from the victims, probably including ours," Noroi said calmly.

"What could it be for?" Ito pondered aloud. "For something big most likely. Who knows what all this compressed magic could do if released," Noroi said with a small shrug. "Hey...what's with your eyes? How did you...get rid of that woman?" Ito asked quietly. "Ah that," Noroi turned and walked away from her, toward the girl in the doorway. The girl immediately began to back away into the shadows.

"I'm not Noroi. However, I'm borrowing her body until you and I escape this place. She named me Saitzuko," Saitzuko said casually. Ito stared in shock, only making Saitzuko smile in amusement. "Y-You're...that's not.." Ito stuttered. Saitzuko merely chuckled at her. "You cant honestly tell me that you didn't notice your friend was acting strange," she snickered.

* * *

I blinked down at the knife in my hand. "So that means…" I muttered, slowly looking up at Gray. I heard Archi gasp a little next to me. He turned to face me, "Don't .It's too risky to do it in such a crowded place." I ignored him. "Return," I muttered.

The knife glowed at the same time Gray's eyes met mine. We held eye contact for millisecond before he disappeared. I heard everyone gasp around me. I cut myself then Archi. "This is goodbye. Mission complete," I said in monotone. "Maria-" Lucy started. "Return," I repeated. Then, I was gone.

* * *

**The fast pacing starts now guys. Finally, after 15 chapters of Maria, we're going into the doll part of the story. During this part, there will most likely be no more first POVs. Also, this is when everyone starts to come together. On a side note, I was thinking of a new story. It would be an AU and basically be a parody of From the New World FT version. I think I'll put in on the back burner for now but what do you think? If you haven't seen From the New World, look it up. It's the best supernatural anime ever IMO.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	16. Part 1-End

**I'm still scared of Wattpad. Everyone there is totally gonna judge me (Everyone else: But aren't you being judged right now?)SHHHHH, IT'S NOT THE SAME! I just realized: People are going to be so confused on when this actually happened until I add the plot twist near the finale. Question for you all; If I had to kill off anyone, who's death wouldn't give you feels?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Mashima's.**

* * *

Saitzuko's fingers gently ran along the sleek polished side of the gigantic tube. "What is that?" Ito asked hesitantly, coming up behind her. "It contains all of the magic that was drained from the victims, probably including ours," Saitzuko said calmly.

"What could it be for?" Ito pondered aloud. "For something big most likely. Who knows what all this compressed magic could do if released," Noroi said with a small shrug. "Hey...what's with your eyes? How did you...get rid of that woman?" Ito asked quietly. "Ah that," Saitzuko turned and walked away from her, toward the girl in the doorway. The girl immediately began to back away into the shadows.

"I'm not Noroi. However, I'm borrowing her body until you and I escape this place. She named me Saitzuko," Saitzuko said casually. Ito stared in shock, only making Noroi smile in amusement. "Y-You're...that's not.." Ito stuttered. Saitzuko merely chuckled at her. "You cant honestly tell me that you didn't notice your friend was acting strange," she snickered.

* * *

The door creaked open and she poked her head inside. "Mistress?" she called hesitantly. "What is it?" said Mistress without turning to look at her. "I was sent to deliver a message," the girl said quietly. Mistress half turned to her, "It's about Kiren and Isha isn't it? I am already aware of their deaths."

"I-Is that so? W-Well, that was the message I was sent to convey so I should go…" The girl stammered, slowly closing the door. "Wait," Mistress called, fully turning to the girl. She froze then opened the door a little wider.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked. "...Come here," Mistress said kindly. The girl glanced back the way she came, to the corridor, before stepping inside fully and shutting the door behind her. Mistress walked over to her and grabbed a lock of her caramel colored hair, much to the girl's surprise. "M-M-Mistress?" she stuttered in surprise and nervousness.

"You really..resemble her a lot," Mistress murmured, completely ignoring the girl's shocked reaction. "If only your hair was a shade darker, and your body a bit more developed…" she continued to mutter. After a long moment she let the girl's hair fall back to her shoulder. The girl gave a sigh of relief.

"Marie," Mistress said.

"Yes?"

"You still have your manipulation abilities, correct?"

"Yes, I've been practicing them everyday is class like you told me to."

Mistress smiled at this and put her hand atop Marie's head. "You shall be my new servant," she said suddenly. Marie blinked, "Huh? Isn't Miss Maria already your servant?" Mistress didn't react. "That's right. But, if everything goes the way I predict it will, then I will need a new one soon. So, I'll appoint you now," she said calmly.

* * *

Astrid flinched at the sound of the booming thunder. _I knew I should've grabbed my coat first…_

She was soaking wet and cold. "Where am I even going?" She wondered aloud. She was currently huddled under a small rock formation to stay out of the rain. She briefly considered returning after a few hours, but decided against it when Garry's face crossed her mind.

She'd stopped crying a while ago. _Garry-san is still alive. He must be slacking off. If he expects me to sit and wait, he better think again! _She grinned at the thought. However, her smile fell at the thought of Yui. "Onee-no, Shion better not hurt her," she muttered to herself.

Thunder boomed overhead once again. Astrid laid down with a sigh. _It's like I can go anywhere in this weather. I'll just sleep through it._ With that in mind she slowly closed her eyes and dozed off to the sound of rainfall.

* * *

I blinked down at the knife in my hand. "So that means…" I muttered, slowly looking up at Gray. I heard Archi gasp a little next to me. He turned to face me, "Don't .It's too risky to do it in such a crowded place." I ignored him. "Return," I muttered.

The knife glowed at the same time Gray's eyes met mine. We held eye contact for millisecond before he disappeared. I heard everyone gasp around me. I cut myself then Archi. "This is goodbye. Mission complete," I said in monotone. "Maria-" Lucy started.

"Return," I repeated. Then, I was gone.

* * *

**The fast pacing starts now guys. Finally, after 15 chapters of Maria, we're going into the doll part of the story. During this part, there will most likely be no more first POVs. Also, this is when everyone starts to come together. On a side note, I was thinking of a new story. It would be an AU and basically be a parody of From the New World FT version. I think I'll put in on the back burner for now but what do you think? If you haven't seen From the New World, look it up. It's the best supernatural anime ever IMO.**

**Reviews are appreciated. **


	17. Part 2: Prologue II

**I recently got obsessed with ****Karugamo March - 041 Sinken from Mogeko Castle, so that's on loop while I'm typing this. Check it out. Thanks to Amethyst for reviewing again! Also, 17 chapters already huh? At this rate, we might have over 30 chapters by the time this is done! Slow pacing means more chapters I guess.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's or any official material used in this chapter.**

* * *

**Not yet…**

_I open my eyes at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. I'm in a cabin in front of a lit fireplace. The vague basic questions momentarily cross my mind. __**Where am I? What happened? Why am I here?**_ _I spot a table and try to put my hand down to lean on it, only to fall right through, barely catching myself from face planting. _

_**It's a dream**__, I conclude. I look further around the room and see a bed with three lumps under the sheet. I walk over to it and start to lean over to see who was in it when the voice sounded again. _

**It's not time yet…**

_I realize with a start that the sound was coming from the lump in the middle of the bed. I look down and see a smiling woman staring back at me. The voice is coming from her, she's singing. Unable to find anything else to do, I simply squat down and listen. _

**I dream of the morning...**

**It's not time yet, it's not time yet**

**What color will the morning bring?**

**It's not time yet, it's not time yet**

**The night is still only half-eaten**

**Where is the child who slumbers?**

**Now, good morning to you, Nightmare..!**

**And the bad dreams**

**Will never come again...**

_Suddenly, everything is familiar to me. Like it had always been there in the back of my mind. '__**This place...is home…?'**_ _I think with confusion. I stand up and look at the woman again, taking in her wavy dirty blonde, blue eyes, slim figure. I blink, and suddenly, the two other lumps on the bed have turned into small children. _

_One with caramel colored hair and blue eyes with the woman, and one that looked like a baby version of me. '__**What the...'**_ _I mutter. Suddenly, the woman turns on her side to face me completely and whispers, "It's not time yet, Maria." I stare at her in bewilderment then slight _

_horror as her face morphs into Mistress'. _'_**The hell?!' **__I exclaim before everything goes black. _

* * *

The first thing she was aware of was the cold tile beneath her. It was dark, nothing but pitch darkness in fact. Maria's eyes snapped open with the jolt of her body. Her breathing was ragged for a few moments before her eyes adjusted to the light and she was able to see her surroundings.

She was laying down in a checkered room which she quickly recognized as Kiren's from the dolls. '_Those things are as creepy as ever' _she thought. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head gingerly. Looking all the way around this time, she noticed a girl on the edge of her vision.

She was polishing dolls a few feet away from her, but hadn't noticed Maria yet. She had long straight caramel hair that went to her hips and was wearing a pink skirt with black stockings and white boots. Maria couldn't help but raise a brow at her attire. '_It's still weird seeing bright clothes like this..' _she thought.

When she cleared her throat, the girl jumped then whirled around. "O-Oh, you're awake Maria-san?" she stuttered. Maria couldn't help but stare into her soft blue eyes for a moment before responding. "Obviously. Who're you?" _Weird, she looks just like that girl in my dream… _

"I'm Marie," the girl replied.

"And what's a frail girl like you doing in a room like this?"

"Oh, Mistress assigned me here to clean things up and to escort you when you returned."

Maria blinked. "Clean? Taking care of the dolls is Kiren's job." Marie suddenly shifted uncomfortably. "Well..you see, Kiren-san was…" She started quietly. Maria raised a brow at her sudden nervousness. "She's dead right?" she asked with eerie calmness. Marie looked at her with a startled expression then nodded.

Maria stood and brushed herself off with a sigh, pausing to examine the new bandage on her arm. "Where's Archi?" she asked casually. "He woke up before you, so he went to report to Mistress," Marie said, walking over to her. "Have you seen a girl named Ito? Midget, white hair?" Maria inquired. "No, but Mistress told me she was completing a special task," Marie replied, walking toward the door and opening it.

"Shall we go?" She asked. Maria nodded and followed the girl into the dim hallway.

* * *

Gray awoke to find himself bound by his wrists and ankles. He was briefly overcome with confusion before recalling the events with Maria. '_I didn't think she could actually manage to do it,' _he thought, slightly impressed. The image of an enraged Juvia popped into his head, making him snicker.

He sat up with relative ease and observed his surroundings. '_A cell huh? How cliche.'_

His cell was lit up by lights overhead, and was relatively dull. Gray walls, gray floor, gray everything. There was a very small window on the door which was shut, giving him no view of the outside.

"Gray Fullbuster?" a voice boomed, making him jump. He looked around and noticed a speaker in the corner of the room. "You are now known as Subject C. We will begin the changing process momentarily."

"The changing?" Gray muttered. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, and they were getting closer. He sat still and watched the door cautiously. The footsteps stopped right outside the door. "Thank you for waiting," a feminine voice purred, making him shudder involuntarily. The window slowly slid open to reveal the end of a tube.

He didn't realize the dart had hit him until his mind started getting foggy. '_Sedatives?' _he thought in foggy confusion. Gray quickly lost feeling in his limbs, making him fall on his side. As black dots swarmed his vision, he could've sworn he saw the door crack open.

* * *

**Ohohoho, this is going to be GOOD. Next chapter there's definitely going to be torture,that's a fact. What kind it is depends on your imagination~ I started listening to the Ib OST and loved it so much. I finally figured out how all of this is going to connect together. I even have the epilogue in my head. But there's no way it'll all go smoothly, I know that much. **

**Anyone who can guess what song I used in Maria's dream sequence will get to add anything to any character. Even change relationships between characters. Speaking of the song, who do you all think was in that bed hmmm? Just how are Mari and Maria connected? You'll find out at some point.**

**Hint: Be ready for a plot twist you all saw coming next time.**

**Review please~**


	18. Beginnings

**Did you guys see Gray's legit smile in chapter 435? I feel so bad doing this to him now...OnO**

**NOTE: A) Mari is pronounced like Mary. B) When Saitzuko is in Noroi's body, she will be addressed as Saitzuko by me in writing.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

_It warm and bright when she opened her eyes. "Astrid!" Garry called, jogging over to her. "Even if it's nice weather outside, it's not good to doze off like that," he scolded lightly. "Ah, sorry," Astrid said playfully, standing up from her position beside the tree she'd been leaning on. "It's alright. The real problem is not hosting the party," Garry chuckled, ruffling her hair._

_Astrid giggled and skipped into the crowd of guests. "So tall!" she gawked at the adults that seemed to tower over her. "Onee-san!" a high pitched voice called. She turned to face her little sister that was surely near her. _

_Instead she faced oblivion. She was standing on the edge of a void of nothingness. "Eeek!" she cried as she stumbled back, only to find herself falling through what she thought was the ground. "G-Garry-san! Onee-sama!" she shouted, reaching out to their rapidly retreating figures in vain. _

_Suddenly, papers started flying up from beneath her. A few smacked against her, and one of them she managed to catch. It was a newspaper. 'MAN GOES MISSING IN COVER OF THE NIGHT' the headline read. The paper abruptly pulled itself from her hands and ripped itself into pieces violently. _

"_Wha-"_

* * *

She shot up from the ground with a start. Her heart was racing, breathing ragged, hands shaking. "G-Garry-san…" she whispered.

"Onee-san?"

She jumped and looked around wildly. To her utter shock, Yui was kneeling a few yards away from her, unfolding a blanket. "W-W-What're you doing here?!" Astrid stammered. Yui merely blinked, "We're looking for Garry-san, right? I figured you need some supplies, so I came to help,"

Astrid felt elated with joy that she wouldn't be alone. "But, you're too young for this kind of stuff. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you, so go-" "I brought a bunch of stuff including money for the train and the letter,"

Astrid found herself stunned by her little sister's interruption. "Letter?" she crawled toward her sister who was digging through the bag she'd brought. Astrid watched with impatience as Yui dug through her bag, searching in silence. In the quiet, Astrid noticed the sound rain had ceased. She glanced outside, but saw no bright sunlight. "It's still cloudy, not raining though," Yui said, finally pulling out the letter.

Astrid hurriedly snatched it from her hands, unfolded it, and read. Her sister watched stoically as emotions flitted across Astrid's face. The more she read, the more upset her face got. "Garry..san…." she whispered, barely audible. "Garry-san…." she repeated, crumpling the paper in her tight grasp. Yui tilted her head to the side.

"Unforgivable, it's unforgivable," Astrid muttered. "Onee-chan…?" Yui called hesitantly. She jumped a little when Astrid's hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Yui," she said in a deep tone. "We're going to Garry-san. We're not going home until he's safe. Got it?"

* * *

Gray's eyes snapped open from the sudden zap of pain that shot through his head. He cursed and put a hand to his forehead. "What happened…?" he muttered to himself. He looked around and observed his surroundings. He was lying on a white bed in a white room. A white floor, white ceiling, white walls. "What's up with all the white?" he pondered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

He immediately started walking toward the door, building up magic energy in case his captors were waiting on the other side. He was about to grab the knob when the door suddenly swung open from the other side.

"Ah, you're awake?"

His eyes widened at the all too familiar voice. He looked from the door to the person in the doorframe only to see the smiling face of his father staring back at him.

* * *

It was quiet. Too quiet. But quiet was all there was between Marie and Maria as they walked down the halls side by side. Maria couldn't help but glance at her escort constantly. '_She looks so much like that little girl in my dream'_ she thought.

Little did she know, her escort was doing the same. "U-Um," Marie started nervously. "The Miss was adamant about you arriving quickly, so we should probably pick up the pace." Maria nodded in agreement and sped her stroll up to a power walk.

It was another few moments before Mari spoke again. "I-If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to make you rush back?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity. Maria couldn't help but smile a little at the girl. "Well, that's for the Mistress to hear, and you to find out," she replied smoothly.

Marie pouted and was about to retaliate when a blood curling scream tore through the air, making the two girls jump in fright. Marie winced and put her hands over her ears, but Maria stood still and absorbed the sound. '_That sounds like Gray...'_ she thought in slight discomfort. After several seconds, the scream died down.

Maria exhaled calmly and was about to continue walking when she was yanked non-too-gently by her escort. "W-We should r-really hurry," she stammered, practically dragging Maria behind her at a jogging pace. '_That must've shaken her up bad, she's practically trembling in her boots'_ Maria observed. It wasn't long before Maria yanked her arm back and matched her pace with Marie's.

While jogging, Maria couldn't help but notice Marie's slight limp.

* * *

**Reasons why I haven't updated faster: Making an outline for an original story, school projects,legit forgot about this, and working with the developer of an rpg horror game (ATM we're at a wall) . As such, this story will most likely be updated way less frequently until next week or the week after that. Did you see the anime's latest episode? Silver, all Silver and feels once again. A least I'll see the anime only viewers suffer too. MANGA SPOILER: ACNOLOGIA IS HUMAN AND ZEREF AND NATSU ARE BROTHERS, I SHOULD'VE GUESSED, BUT THEN AGAIN I DIDN'T REALLY CARE. Honestly, finding that stuff out was really random and out of place, like Mashima wanted to throw the answers in our faces thinking we'd take it (a lot of people did with shock).**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated!**


	19. Progress

**Screw this story. Screw this story. .Story. Am I guilty for not uploading in a month? No, because I was out of ideas till now. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Hiro Mashima's.**

* * *

Yui watched the trains race by with little interest. Her and Astrid had managed to get to the train station, and were presently waiting for the next train to Sin. They got a couple of strange looks as they passed by fellow travelers. It was understandable considering their social status as members of a local wealthy family.

"Only a few minutes till the next one, right?" Astrid said impatiently, staring at the large clock on the wall in the station. "Right," Yui confirmed. She nodded at her older sister, then went back to watching trains speed by. After a while of listening to the chatter of the crowd, boredom set in on the sisters. Just as Astrid opened her mouth the complain, a voice boomed over the speaker. "_All passengers boarding the express train to Sin country, please remember to be cautious when in the main town. A kidnapping spree has be noticed there and authorities advise caution. Your train will arrive shortly."_

Astrid pursed her lips, but Yui remained indifferent. Both of them knew the announcer was referring to the incident with Garry. Astrid, taking up the role as an older sibling, said "Don't worry, we'll save him." Yui's lips upturned into almost into a smile as she nodded again.

Sure enough, the train arrived minutes later, just as the speaker had predicted. Astrid bolted through the doors, dragging Yui with her, the second they opened. They quickly found a seat and sat down to wait for the train to depart. "Do you know what town we're going to? This train only goes to the main business and entertainment areas," Yui inquired. Instead of responding, her sister froze.

"I'll take that as a no then," Yui sighed.

* * *

Maria gingerly knocked on Mistress' metal door. The sound echoed in the deserted hall. Almost immediately, someone opened the door. "Archi," Maria said as greeting. He smiled slightly at her before looking at Mari, expecting a greeting from her as well. "Mistress said to return here once Maria woke up," was all she said. "I know. She's in the monitoring room," Archi said, stepping aside to let them in.

Mari bolted through the doorway in a powerwalk, face pale and lips thin. Maria and Archi stared after her with astonishment and surprise for a few seconds before advancing into the room themselves. The whole room was dim as always, but the atmosphere seemed to have changed. The dolls that usually haunted the door were nowhere to be found. Their absence was both a relief and worry for Maria. They were creepy little things, but Mistress _never_ put them away.

Almost as if reading her mind, Archi said "Mistress has an outsider guest. I'm guessing they came over while we were gone." Maria looked at him in surprise, "Really? She's never had anyone from the outside before."

"Maybe it's for a negotiation of some sort," Archi suggested.

Maria shrugged then squinted as they walked into a bright section of the room. She had to blink rapidly for her eyes to adjust. The first thing she noticed was Mistress in all her glory. The second thing she noticed was that the woman wasn't alone. There were three other people in the room with her, including Mari. Mistress and a girl with pigtails sitting on a spotless beige couch facing another woman who was sitting on an adjacent beige couch.

"Oh, welcome back Maria," Mistress greeted with a pleasant smile as always. However, Maria couldn't help but notice her smile looked a little forced. The woman on the opposite couch observed her from behind thick glasses, her brown eyes travelling up and down her body . "So you're the one I've heard about," she said in a clipped voice. Maria glanced at her warily. "Who're they?" she asked.

"This is Ms. Koreg," Mistress said, gesturing to the woman with glasses. "And this," Mistress put a hand on the girl with pigtail's lap. "Is my daughter."

* * *

Gray warily followed his father out of the bedroom and down a set of stairs. _What the hell is happening? _he thought. _Even if I'm dreaming, why would I dream about __**this**__? _When they reached the bottom of the stairs, a feminine and strangely familiar voice greeted them. "Finally up, eh? With how hard you were sleeping, I could've sworn you were going to sleep till dusk."

He froze. Silver smiled at the owner of the voice, a woman in an apron leaning on a counter in what looked to be the kitchen. "Now Mika, we both know he wouldn't miss a chance to wolf down your cooking," he joked. Silver started toward the kitchen, but turned to raise a brow at his frozen son. "Aren't you coming to the table?" he inquired. Gray's eyes darted between his mother and his father in pure confusion.

"Don't tell me you're not hungry, I making all this food takes a lot of effort y'know," Mika said. After a moment, Gray shook his head and proceeded to the table. _If this is a dream,_ he thought, _I might as well enjoy it._

* * *

**Cliff hanger because I wanted to get this out today. Now, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY AMERICA! (Yes, only Americans. The rest of you get nothing.) As usual, I was pretty hesitant to write more about Gray's inner mind thingy, but managed to get this little bit in there. I recently got obsessed with more of MASA's works (Bunker Buster/The first song in Maha's Story/The Clear Demonic Mirror/ I am the Celebration of Two People). I use them to imagine fanfic ideas. Mostly about how Gray would act if he were driven to insanity. I was wondering about making a fic where Gray's past were altered to fit the Kagome Kagome creepypasta, but he got kidnapped again (Hence the insanity from earlier).**

**Hmmm, oh well! Reviews are welcome (Realized haven't gotten any in a while O_o Not again...).Once again, Happy Independence Day!**


	20. Innermost Wishes

**Thank you Nymphadora and Black Falcon for the favorites! Thanks JcL107 for the follow! They really do mean a lot to me QuQ. I guess people find this story bearable after all. **

**Fun fact: The scene below was inspired by a scene in The City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments) ((My favorite book series of all time))**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's**

* * *

Gray sat dazedly at the long dinner table in the dining room. Everyone was chattering excitedly around him. When he first saw his father and mother, he'd thought things couldn't have possible gotten any stranger. But somehow, they had.

Shortly after he'd sat down, the door swung open and Ultear glided into the room with Lyon at her heels. She'd smiled at him as she sat down next to his father. Lyon had remained indifferent as he sat next to him. Gray had gaped at both of them in the same mixture of confusion, fondness and shock as he had his parents. Minutes later, Juvia had raced through the door and given him a light peck on the cheek before seating herself on the other side of him.

He'd stared at her incredulously for several seconds before having to turn his head to see yet _another _guest stroll through the front door. She'd given him a clap on the back before seating herself next to his mother, who smiled at the sight of her. Gray couldn't stop staring at his former teacher, who was supposed to be dead.

Now, minutes later, he couldn't stop himself from glancing at her, making sure she was still there. This time when he looked, she caught his eye and grinned at him. He'd recoiled and stared down at his plate of food instead. _What the hell is going on,_ he thought. Something nudged his arm.

He looked up and saw Lyon looking at him with open concern. "I thought you loved your mom's cooking," he said. Gray just furrowed his brow at him. "What? You want me to feed it to you again? After almost a decade of playing tough guy?" Lyon joked. Gray stared at him.

_Your big brother has always cared for you very much. _

He blinked at the whispering voice in the back of his head. "Right," he said aloud. Lyon's eyebrows raised slightly. "I-I need some air," Gray said, rising from his seat. "I'll go with you," Lyon said almost immediately, also standing. Ur, noticing them, said , "If you boys are going somewhere, be back before dessert, or you're washing _all _of the dishes."

Gray turned and almost missed the look of disbelief on Lyon's face. As soon as he opened the door, a familiar breeze hit him. The icy cold wind of Isvan blew with just enough force to briefly lift the hair out of his eyes. He took a deep breath and although he couldn't feel the chill of the air, he could almost taste it. He walked down and off of the porch and sat in the snow. He couldn't feel the chill of that either, but he enjoyed it's sun was nearly setting on the horizon in front of him. The sun, slightly obscured by the snow clouds,its rays managing to pierce them in the distance was always a beautiful sight. It reminded him of…

_Isvan has always been your home. You live in the snow._

Gray shook his head slightly and closed his eyes, letting his body drink in the environment, the feeling of home. He was so immersed he nearly jumped when he sensed a presence next to him.

"Beautiful isn't it," Lyon said, awkwardly kneeling in the snow next to him. Getting nothing in response, he sighed, his lips releasing a small cloud of white in front of him. "Is something wrong? You've been acting strangely distant."

"You're not real."

Lyon turned to stare at Gray with a look of astonishment. Gray opened his eyes, "You're not real. None of this is. It's all just one long dream, and when I wake up, this'll be gone." He didn't look at Lyon as he spoke.

This time, Lyon went silent, and Gray sighed. "All I can do is-" He broke off in surprise as a hand grabbed the back of his head and pulled it toward something firm yet soft. It took him a few seconds to realize that Lyon was hugging him.

"Wh-What're you doing?!"

"I don't really know what's up with you, but, you can't be saying those kinds of things," Lyon scolded. Gray flailed briefly then managed to clamp his hands down on Lyon's arms. "Let go," he demanded, pulling on the other boy's arms. To his surprise, they didn't budge.

"Even if you think this is a dream, shouldn't you at least try to enjoy it?" Lyon asked. Gray paused at the question.

_Shouldn't you try to enjoy it?_

Gray's grip loosened a fraction.

_Your parents love you very much. _

A hazy memory came to mind. His father swinging him up in the air on his 7th birthday, just to show off how small Gray still was.

_This is your home. You never left Isvan. You have always belonged here. _

He let his hands relax, resting them on the inside of Lyon's elbows. The older boy let out a small huff.

_Your siblings have always protected you and will continue to do so always. Your family is here. You have nowhere to return to except this home. _

"I know…"

_Welcome home, Gray._

* * *

Never in her life had Maria tried so hard to hide her emotions. Shock and confusion made her suck in a breathe, but that was all she allowed herself to do. "What do you mean?" she said in a small voice. Mistress' eyes bore into her. "It is as I said, Maria. This is my first child, Ayame."

The girl with pigtails was also staring at Maria, though her gaze was less intense. "She's been kept from just about everyone and has been living in a secret facility," Mistress said. Maria only nodded and let her gaze roam over the two. The girl had big russet eyes complimented by long lashes. Her amber pigtails trailed down to just below her breasts. She was wearing a simple yellow sundress and yellow shoes that stood out against her pale skin. The only features she shared with her mother were her eyes and pale skin.

Ayame observed Maria with a long stare as opposed to Maria's frequent glances. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, Ayame turned to her mother. "Sister has yet to arrive," she said. Her voice was mellow, but there was something in the way she spoke that contradicted her tone. Maria bit her lip to withhold another gasp. She exhaled shakily and said, "Mistress, do you have another child?"

To her surprise, Mistress' eyes flashed. "Yes," she said after a moment. "Yes, I have a second child. Ayame's sister."

"Is she here?"

"No, she's in the halls."

Maria blinked. "In the halls?" Mistress gave her a sly smile. Ms. Koreg cleared her throat, effectively drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "You all have time to conference later, but my time here is limited."

Mistress smiled at her with a hint of annoyance. "That's right, we'd better continue our conference before your time is up."

* * *

**Aaaaand, we're done for now. That took shorter than I imagined. The thing with Gray got really awkward to write at certain parts, but I managed. Some psychological stuff there. One step closer to the "transformation" OuO. Reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated. **


	21. Tainted Paradise

**So I'm going to be submitting some of these chapters for an interview soon. therefore, these Author's notes will be more tones down for a time. **

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's. **

* * *

Ayame's russet eyes bore into Maria's side. The girl had been staring at her for the past few minutes almost unblinkingly. Maria simply ignored this and tried to focus on the conversation between and Mistress. The two women seemed to be talking about something involving an experiment.

"The Magic Council wants the results of the experiment and, if possible, a live subject," Ms. Koreg was saying. "I can provide both of those if you please, however, I cannot guarantee that the either of the subjects are stable," Mistress said. "Then, what about Experiment 004? The subjects from that surely have to be stable." Maria silently noted that Ms. Koreg's voice was edged with desperation.

Beside her, Mari fidgeted. Whether it was from nerves or having to stand still for so long, Maria couldn't tell, but she sent the girl a questioning glance nevertheless. Mari caught her gaze and gave a small smile and a nod in return. Maria smiled a bit as well and attempted to tune back into the conversation.

But, by this time, it seemed the discussion was coming to a close. "So, you'll show me the results?" asked almost eagerly. Mistress nodded and patted her daughter on the head, "That's right. All we have to do now is-"

The abrupt sound of a door banging against a wall made everyone except Mistress and her daughter jump. "Ah, they've arrived," she said with a grin. "Maria, why don't you go greet our new arrivals."

Maria froze and bit back an excuse. A moment later, she was walking the way the had came, slowly getting closer to the source of the abrupt noise. She half expected it to be some workers who'd come to report an emergency. That was the only reason anyone would have to simply throw open the door without so much as knocking.

What she was not expecting was a stony faced Ito standing in the doorway. "Maria," she said flatly. "Ito," Maria exclaimed in surprise. "What're you doing here?" Ito shook her head. "I have something for Mistress. It's very important."

Maria knelt down infront of her small friend and pulled her close. "You know you can't just throw the door open like that. It's against the rules, and you interrupted something important," she scolded. "Yes, but it's worth it," Ito replied. Behind them, Noroi silently crept by, hoping to get past them before Maria noticed her presence.

Maria stood just as Noroi managed to dive behind a stray chair. "Come on," she said. "Mistress was expecting you." She turned then remembered that her little friend was not supposed to be alone. "Oh, that's right, you have another girl with you, don't you," she inquired. Ito tensed, Noroi automatically coming to mind. "That's right," Ito said quietly.

Maria straightened up and glanced around. Noroi froze as Maria's gaze passed over her, but the young woman's gaze did not linger. "Where is she?" Maria asked, returning her full attention back to Ito. Noroi took this chance to creep from behind the chair and tiptoe directly behind Maria. Ito bit her lip, "That's…"

* * *

Everything was nice and pleasant now. No more bad feelings remained within his body. Gray Fullbuster was sure that this was the happiest he'd ever been. This was the way things were supposed to be, after all. His mother and father were supposed to be alive and bickering over who got the last piece of bread. Lyon and Ultear were supposed to be his elder siblings who watched over his parent's antics and keeping an eye on him. Juvia was supposed to be here by his side, giggling at the mayhem a few feet away.

It was supposed to be like this. No one was missing or dead. Everyone he cared about were alive and happy. Everyone...

Gray frowned at the sudden hollow feeling in his chest. It felt like something, no, _someone_ was missing. A phantom of a memory passed over him. A boy with a scarf and pink hair fighting a woman with crimson hair and a full set of armor. But that couldn't be right. He didn't know these people, did he?

He was so buried in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Juvia looking at him until she opened her mouth. "Are you alright?" she asked. Gray nodded and forced a smile, but it was clear she wasn't taking the bait. "If something is bothering Gray, then Gray should just forget about it and enjoy the happy things," she said. He stared at her. Something was wrong with that advice.

That didn't sound like something she or any of his friends would say.

Suddenly, he felt an itch in the back of his head. The feeling of hollowness in his chest spread to the rest of his body. Something was very wrong. More phantom memories passed over him now, all distorted yet clear. Two white haired and blue eyes girls. A short girl with indigo hair tied into pigtails. A blue cat with wings. A short old man with a balding head and a mustache. All of them had the same mark.

_Fairy Tail._

* * *

He awoke with a jolt that sent him sitting straight up. His eyes darted around wildly, searching for something, anything familiar. Tubes were shoved down his throat. He couldn't breathe. He thrashed against his restraints that strapped his body to the table. Hands, hands from all around tried to push him down, voices tried to soothe him. No, he wouldn't let them.

_Fairy Tail_

His light in the darkness and the thing that had saved him from himself all those years ago. He couldn't believe he had forgotten them. Erza would kick his ass for being so stupid. He had to get back to them. In his panic, he barely felt the needle being jammed into his arm.

He felt himself slowly descend back into the abyss of unconsciousness. _No!_ he thought desperately, _I don't want to go back. I need to get out of here! _But his body was no longer cooperating. It sagged against the table, suddenly sluggish. His eyelids grew heavy and ,despite how hard he was fighting to stay awake, Gray slipped into unconsciousness once more.

* * *

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! I was aiming to publish chapters on holidays. If anything, I'll try to get chapters out on holidays in 2016. I still have about an hour left till the new year where I live, so happy new year in advance (or just period for those in different timezones). **

**New year's resolutions:**

**\- Publish chapters more often.**

**-Improve writing/plot.**

**-Rewrite The Selected.**

**-Finish this story (there really shouldn't be that much content left at this point, honestly). **


	22. A Not-So-Serendipitous Mass Encouter

**Yeah, so just a head's up. From this point on I'm going to be straight up ignoring some details of previous chapters because the writing was horrendous, and doing so is the only way I can gather enough willpower to write a new chapter. I've also officially made this story more of a priority over my other one since that one is just a sequel. I've learned from my mistakes that it is very difficult to write original material and its sequel at the same time. I thought I could try it since Mashima tried, but it didn't quite occur to me that 1) He's a professional 2) His writing with FT hasn't been the best. Speaking of which, I hate Irene. All of her. Her torture backstory invokes no pity from me. The rest of the Spriggan 12 are a) stupid b)walking villian tropes c) ridiculous d) Brandish with the sole exception of August, who is almost Hades in terms of appearance and some character traits. **

* * *

Noroi was breathing a bit harsher than usual as she let the chair clatter to the ground. Maria's limp body lay sprawled on the floor a few inches from her feet. Ito's face was twisted by guilt, but she buried her nails into her palms and pursed her lips. Noroi expressionlessly gazed at Maria's form without a hint of remorse of what she'd just done. "As I thought, it just takes a well-aimed hit to the head to knock any human out," she said.

"A-Are you sure you had to do it like that?" Ito asked. Noroi glanced at her, "Yep, but now we have to hurry. The others will -"

"What the hell?!"

Both girls turned toward the intruder, only one showing any hint of surprise. "M-Mister Archi," Ito stuttered, looking at him with wide eyes. "What _is_ this? _What did you do?"_ Archi exclaimed in disbelief, looking back and forth between her and Maria's body.

"I-we just-"

"I just knocked her out. She was in our way," Noroi cut in, staring Archi down with unimpressed eyes despite the rather large differences in their height and stature. He opened his mouth then clamped it shut. "Okay, just-just go to the back. Mistress is waiting for you."

Noroi clicked her tongue once, but didn't speak as she strolled past him. Ito tried to tell him with her eyes how sorry she was, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. She silently trudged past him to the back as well. "Well that was easy," Noroi muttered. "I expected him to put up more of a fight."

Ito gave her sidelong look, but couldn't bring herself to speak. Her feelings were too conflicted for her to form a coherent sentence. She knew Maria wouldn't just lay down and let them stroll by, but she wasn't sure she improved of Noroi's method of handling things. _No, that's wrong,_ she reminded herself. This wasn't Noroi, it was the demon possessing her. She vaguely wondered if her friend was aware of what was going on.

"And they've finally arrived."

Mistress' voice pulled Ito out of her thoughts. "You two seem to be doing well," Mistress said sweetly, her eyes watching their every move as they entered the brightly lit room. "So you're the leader of this place. Can't remember the last time I've seen you in person," Noroi said smoothly. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in all of the people there, calculating them.

"Is this them?" A woman with glasses inquired almost excitedly. Mistress glanced at her and gave a slight nod. "It's a shame only one experiment was completed. And that one only finished the first of many," she clarified. Her gaze fell on Ito. Her lips curled into a gentle smile. "Ito, my little worker. Ah, I guess it would be more appropriate to call you Subject C now, wouldn't it?"

A small part of her melted at that smile, but the stronger part of her made her stiffen and narrow her eyes. Mistress let out a small laugh at that. "That's just _precious_."

Noroi glanced at the girls in the room. The one with pigtails was smiling at them, but she could feel something sinister behind that sweetness. The other was watching them nervously from her position at the far wall. Something about the way that girl behaved reminded her of a small animal.

Ito scrutinized the girls as well, doing a double take at the sight of the both of them. Mistress followed their gazes and spoke, "Now then, everyone, why don't you introduce yourselves."

The girl at the far wall looked up in surprise before looking at her shoes. "My name is Mari," she said quietly. "Ayame," the girl with pigtails said.

The woman with glasses push up her spectacles with a sigh. "You may call me Ms. Koreg."

"So now that everyone has arrived, can we finally settle on prices?" She asked. "Prices?" Noroi echoed in befuddlement. "Of course. Why don't we start at fifty thousand Jewels for Subject C," Mistress offered. "That, plus the two hundred thousand for Subject D and the eight hundred thousand for Subject-"

"Hold on," Ms. Koreg cut in. "Just how high do you intend these prices to be?"

Mistress raised a brow. "How high? Only about one million five hundred fifty thousand Jewel. And that is not including interest. I trust that your superiors provided you with the proper funds. "

Ms. Koreg's lips parted in slight shock. "The Creators do have a large sum of money in reserves, but your prices are a bit...extravagant for my tastes."

Mistress didn't bat an eye. "You may have forgotten, but I will be selling my first and second born children to your organization as well as a relatively rare entity _and _one of my valuable workers," She quipped.

Ms Koreg's face was utter void of emotion as she spoke. "If you really cared for your children, you would have erased the message regarding my proposal for this transaction immediately." At that, one side of Mistress' lips quirked up a bit. "Cold. Exactly like the businessmen who recruited you," She pointed out. "I don't see the value in saying that in your situation, Miss," Ms. Koreg countered as she adjusted her glasses and crossed her legs. Their eyes met in the pause between talking on both sides. The silence made everyone in the room go all to still with the sole exception of Ayame, who was doing little more than twiddling her fingers disinterestedly.

Noroi looked at the occupants of the room impatiently. "I don't give a damn about how much is on the price tags you've slapped on us, woman. Just tell me where the Ethernano is," she demanded. Ayame perked up at that. Mistress simply gave Noroi a patient smile. "Ethernano is an incredible valuable resource. It's going to cost this young lady here over one million of jewels. Do you really think anyone in their right mind would kindly give you even a miniscule amount just because you asked?"

Noroi's eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke, "I wasn't asking." "Mother, I like her," Ayame cut in. "Of course, Dear," Mistress said distractedly. She shifted her attention back to Miss Koreg. "Now then, I believe that I've presented my final price. Are you willing to pay or not?"

Ms. Koreg pursed her lips and stared at the floor as she mulled it over. Moments later, she raised her head and have a slight nod. "Excellent," Mistress said. Ito felt fabric brush her arm as Archi silently drifted back into the room.

Ito looked up at him, but he didn't so much as glance down at her. "Ah, Archi. Just in time. Give those two proper restraints for transport, will you?" Mistress said sweetly, nodding toward Ito and Noroi. Archi turned slightly to face the two young girls headon. Ito froze, unsure if she was willing to fight him.

Noroi took a battle stance as her eyes began to turn crimson. "Paper Blizzard: White Dance," Archi said. Small squared of white paper suddenly erupted from within his cloak, swirling around him momentarily before charging at the girls. Noroi simply raised her arm, facing her palm toward him. "Dark Deflect," she said flatly. A small spark of magic came from her palm, and the swarm of paper squares suddenly veered to the side, each square losing speed almost immediately after changing direction.

Both and Ito stared. If Archi was surprised that his spell had been deflected, it didn't show on his face. Mistress's ever present serene smile faltered momentarily with something that resembled annoyance at this new development. Ayame grinned widely suddenly. Something about it just seemed so unnatural that Ito had to fight back a shudder. "Power. There is power," Ayame said, staring at Noroi. Noroi stared back, steadily meeting the older girl's piercing gaze. Almost immediately, she noticed an odd sensation in the back of her head. It felt as if an invisible hand were probing her mind, slowly inching its way past her defenses straight into her core.

She recoiled sharply and shook her head violently as if she could shake off the invading force. "Rupture," Ayame said quietly. Noroi's eyes widened as a green aura encompassed her body. It glowed brightly for a moment before she felt her insides implode. She cried out in confused agony as every drop of magic in her body pressurized and exploded. "Noroi," Ito cried as her companion fell to her hands and knees.

Ito quickly knelt down to help her up, but paused as Noroi help up a hand. She lifted her head with a grimace and shot Ayame a wary look. Mari watched with wide, fearful eyes, and looked on with a look of hungry interest, like a scientist would look at a lab rat being experimented on.

"That's...quite the magic...you have there," Noroi huffed out. "Amazing, isn't it," Mistress said, laughing softly. "It's likely rare, lost even. Very impressive, but not enough to completely incapacitate someone for long," Noroi admitted, something resembling amusement spreading across her face. "I like fun things," Ayame chirped abruptly. "You think hurting people is fun?" Noroi asked incredulously. Ayame just laughed in response.

"Incredible," said almost excitedly. "Surely her counterpart must be just as good, yes?"

Mistress smiled wanly. "They both have an incredible amount of magic, but I've hardly had the time to research both of them efficiently at once," she explained. "But fortunately for us, my youngest child isn't too far." She looked at Mari. "Go retrieve her will you? I'm certain that she's in the hall, just outside of here," she said. Mari looked faintly startled to be addressed as if she'd gotten used to being forgotten in the room. "Y-Yes Ma'am," she said obediently, pushing off of the wall she'd been leaning on and striding purposefully out of the room.

* * *

Mari could hardly contain her excitement as she left the room. She'd been surprised when Mistress had suddenly addressed her, but now that she'd gotten over the initial surprise, she was all too eager to fulfill her order.

She strode over to the heavy iron door that was the entrance to Mistress's headquarters and swung it open. She froze as a girl in the hallway met her gaze. Both of them remained motionless for a moment before the girl let out a strangled squeak of surprise and scrambled to get away. "Wait," Mari called, catching at the girl's arm. The girl feebly pawed at her hand in an attempt to escape. Mari couldn't help but to be surprised at how weak the girl was despite easily looking as hold as her. "Mistress calls for your presence. Please don't struggle," Mari told her, tugging the girl toward her. The girl gave no response but to firmly plant her feet into place and tense up.

Mari frowned slightly as she nudged the door closed with her foot. "Why are you so reluctant to go?" she asked curiously after a few moments of dragging in silence. The girl looked at her, her brown eyes ripe with fear and weariness, but remained silent. Mari mentally shrugged at the lack of response and continued on. Suddenly, it hit her just who this girl was. Mistress's secret daughter who'd probably never seen more than a few people at a time her entire life.

She quietly studied the girl as she dragged her along. Her orange hair flowed to the middle of her back and looked like it hadn't been washed or even brushed in ages. Her attire was nothing but a thin, ragged beige dress that only went to mid-thigh. Mari's eyebrows rose as she took in the girl's noticeable bust. Her skin was pale, but not to the point of looking sickly. Although she was quite skinny, Mari didn't think she looked particularly malnourished.

Mari had the feeling that if this girl was given a good cleaning up and nicer clothes, she would be quite beautiful. She couldn't quite understand why Mistress would want to keep her a secret. Maybe she wanted to preserve this potential beauty. Or perhaps this girl's power were dangerous somehow. Surely Mistress wouldn't want to isolate someone for no good reason-

"Welcome back." Mari blinked as she pulled herself out of her musings. She was back in the conference room again. "Ah-um, thank you," Mari replied automatically, looking at Noroi in puzzlement.

Mistress smiled at her for a moment, making her heart flutter. Then, Mistress turned her gaze to Mari's captive, who froze immediately upon being looked at. She looked like a deer in the headlights with her wide eyes and slightly slack jaw, Mari mused. She couldn't imagine why the girl had such a fearful reaction to just being looked at, especially by Mistress. If anything, she should look ecstatic to be the center of her attention.

"Hello, my dear daughter," Mistress said sweetly. The girl didn't react. Still frozen in fear, Mari supposed. "It has been quite a while since I have last seen you. Won't you come here? I want to get a better look at you," Mistress continued. Mari released her captive and looked at her expectantly. A few moments passed, but the girl stayed put. Suddenly, Ayame shot out of her seat and raced over to her sister, stopping just within arm's length of her. Both Mari and her former captive jumped at the sudden movement.

Ayame's gaze focused solely on her sister as their eyes met. "My sister," she breathed, reaching for the girl's cheek. "How I have wanted to see you again," muttered. Her fingers suddenly raked down the girl's cheeks. The girl made a small noise of pain, but made no move to get away. Ayame slowly inclined her head and smiled. "I like you. I love you. But...get in my way and I will destroy you."

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**Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited during the time when I wasn't updating. I've really lost motivation for this, but I'll slowly grind out chapters for anyone still interested nonetheless if only because abandoned stories with good plots rustles my jimmies. Also, this is a new personal best for chapter length! 2,313 words! I'm proud of myself. My original goal was just 2,000, but I started losing faith at a few points. Really, really glad I passed my goal. I originally planned to write out several chapters then post them after reviewing each individually (one of the writers I admire uses this method), but posting a new chapter as soon as I finish just feels better. Hopefully, I can get the hang of writing from Astrid and Yui's POVS as well as give a bit more insight as to what's going on with Gray atm. I have some ideas, I'm just not sure if it'll be in character.**

** Reviews are very appreciated. **


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